^; '^ ^ 



.-^ v'\ 



, e^ * X ' A^^ 

%^* '^^' V. " 



.<?-^ 



■■^^ '^. X^^ '^. 



i^y <p_ 



'^c. 



o^'" 









-0' 



.Oo 



'^'.^^ .\. 



c,^%, 






V^ ^ ^ " ,. ^ 



: ^^'^^<^ :^^^^'^ % 






,-0- ,^ 












<^- 



V i 






^ ''ail" s 






x\^' 



CO' 



^^A v^^ 



oo. 


















.0^ -°^ 



•.S> -3 



J^SJ^^v. 



« . ^^, 



^\ 



^^^ v^^ 



o 
4 -7- ,0 o 




> r. 



"A V 



■ 0- 



oo' 



x^^ '^^^ 









^ t 









■-^'" 



c 

























•^oo^ 



V^ v^ 



\^ 



.\0 ^^, 



'V\. 



V s- ^ '■ « 






'• o / "^^ 



* ■> N O ' vV 



i 



■^X^*^ 



•X^' 



v^ , 



•1j 












^* ^^.. 



^ // 




''^L. 



PUBLICATIONS 

OF THE 

NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 



The 

Beginnings of Public Education 

in North Carolina 



A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY 

1790-1840 



BY 



CHARLES L. COON 



VOLUME I 



RALEIGH 

Edwards & Broughfon Printing Company 

1908 



•y^«ph 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

FEB 5 1909 

CooyrlKht tntry 
CL/VSS (^ XXC. No. 

ooH-v a. 



THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 



J. BRYAN GRIMES, Chairman 
W. J. PEELE THOMAS W. BLOUNT 

D. H. HILL M. C. S. NOBLE 



R. D. W. CONNOR, Secretary 



Copyright 1908 by The North Carolina Historical ('ominission. 



Chronological Table of Contents. 



VOLUME I. 

1744. — Free School in Beaufort: James Winwright's Will. 

1759. — Free School in New Hanover: James Innes' Will. 

1791.— Civil List for 1791. 

1795. — Rev. John Alexander's ^^'ill. 

1798. — Warrenton Academy Asks State Aid. 

David Caldwell Asks for Exemption of His Students from Military Duty. 
1800. — Census North Carolina Counties. 

Educational Conditions. 
1801.— Raleigh Asks State Aid to Establish Academy. 

Newbem Academy Asks State Aid. 
1802. — Gov. Williams' Message on Education.' 

Joseph Graham's Plan for Military Academy. 
1803. — Gov. Turner's Message on Education. 

Dudley's Bill to Encourage Academies. 

O'Farrell's Bill to Establish Academies in Each County. 
1804. — Gov. Turner's Message on Education. 

"Sentinel" on Extravagance. 
1805. — Gov. Turner's Message on Education. 
1806. — Gov. Alexander's Message on Education. 
1807.— Gov. Alexander's Message on Education. 
1808. — Gov. Williams' Message on Education. 
1809. — Gov. Stone's Message on Education. 
1810. — Gov. Stone's Message on Education. 

Education in Caswell County. 

Education in Edgecombe County. 

Education in North Carolina. 
1811. — Gov. Smith's Message on Education. 
1812. — Gov. Hawkins' Message on Education. 

The New Bern Charitable Society. 

Treasury Receipts and Expenditures. 
1813. — Miles Benton's Free School. 

The Wayne County Free School. 

Fayetteville Orphan Asj-ium. 
1814.— The Dixon Charity Fund. 
1815. — Gov. Miller's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 
1816. — Gov. Miller's Message on Education. 

Assembly' Committees on Education. 

Murphey's Report on Education. 

Gov. Miller on Emigration. 

Lottery for Fayetteville Academy Refused. 

The Griffin Free School 1816—1840. 



jv Table of Contents. 

1817. — Gov. Miller's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Muipliey's Report on Education. 

Walker's Report on Education. 

Murphey's Bill to Diffuse Knowledge. 

Female Benevolent Society of Wilmington. 

Lottery for Smithville Academy Refused. 
1818. — Gov. Branch's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Martin's Bill to Establish Schools. 

Slaves May Be Taught to Read or Write. 
1819. — Gov. Branch's Message on Edvication. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Some System of Public Education Urged. 

Education Report of 1819. 
1820. — Population of the Principal Towns. 
1821. — Incorporation of a Baptist Cliurch Refused. 
1822. — Gov. Holmes' Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Proposed Subsidy for Academies. 

Teachers and Students Must Perform Public Duties. 

Approrpiation of Public Lands for Education. 

Work of Raleigh Female Benevolent Society. 
1823.— Gov. Holmes' Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Hill's Resolution on Establishing Schools. 

The Legislature Urged to Establish Common Schools. 
1824. — Gov. Holmes' Message on Education. 

Hill's School Fund Bill. 

Senate Committee Report on Education. 

Ashe's Bill for Educating the Youth of the Poor. 

Committee on Plan of Education. 

Haywood's Plan to Create a Literary Fund. 

Haywood's Plan Approved by Western Carolinian. 

Review of Other School Systems; North Carolina Urged to Establish Schools. 

An Edgecombe Appeal for Free Schools. 
1825. — ^Raleigh Register on "Education of the Poor." 

"P. S." on Education. 

.Judge Gaston's 4tli of July Toast. 

The Raleigh Register on Neeessit}^ of Education. 

Proposed History by Judge Murphej'. 

Gov. Burton's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Assembly Resolutions on Education. 

Education Report of 1825. 

Attempt to Raise School Fund by J>ottery. 

The Literarv Fund I^aw. 



Tahlk ok Cu^' tents. V 

1825. — Memorial of Orange Sunday School Union. 

Lottery for Publication of N. C. History. 

Attempted Legislation. 

Lotteries for Academies Refused. 
1826. — Comment on School Law of 1825. 

Manumission, by Ealeigh Register. 

Gov. Burton's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Proposed Lottery for Public Schools. 

Lottery for Increase Literary Fund and Publication of North Carolina 
History. 

Potter's Political College Bill. 

Potter's Speech on His Political College Bill. 

Discussion of the Morality of Lotteries. 

Failure of Bill to Encourage Sunday Schools. 

Failure of Attempt to Increase Literary Fund. 

Failure Statistical Information Bill. 

Failure of Bill to Prohibit Teaching Colored Apprentices. 

Organization of Literary Board. 

First Report of Literary Board to Legislature 1826-7. 

Lotteries for Academies Refused. 
1827. — -Proceedings Literary Board. 

"Upton" on Education. 

Causes of Emigration. 

Gov. Burton's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Legislative Inquiry into Condition of Literary Fund. 

Smith's Bill to Repeal Literary Fund Law 1825. 

Drake's Bill to Repeal Literary Fund Law 1825. 

Literary Fund Clerk Bill Rejected. 

Report on Literary Fund Repeal Bill. 

Deaf and Dumb Institution Incorporated. 

Second Report Literary Board. 

Spirit of Economy and Individualism. 
1828. — Plan for the Education of Teachers. 

Gov. Iredell's Message on Education. 

Internal Improvements Remedy for Emigration. 

Third Report of the Literary Board. 

Domestic Industry and Economy. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Senator McFarland's Bill to Educate Poor Children. 

House Resolutions on Education. 

House Report on Education. 

Proceedings of Literary Board. 
1829. — X's Open Letter Against Schools and Internal Imi)rovements. 

Dr. Caldwell on Opposition to Taxation. 

Gov. Owens' Message on Education. 



vi Table of Conte:s[ts. 

1829. — Kinney's "Plan of Public Schools." 

Committees on Education. 

McFarland's Bill to Educate Poor Children. 

Loan Asked for Edenton Academy. 

What Other States Are Doing for Common Schools. 

Neglect of the Public Library. 
1830. — A Teachers' Association Suggested. 

The Establishment of Schools Urged. 

North Carolina Urged to Follow Tennessee in School Legislation. 

Gov. Owens' Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

McFarland's Bill to Educate Poor Children. 

Assembly Resolutions on Edixcation. 

Inexpedient to Appropriate School Fund. 

McFarland's Bill to Increase Literary Fund. 

]\Ionk's Bill to Increase the Literary Fund. 

Loan Asked for Oxford Academy. 

Bill to Collect School Statistics. 

Literary Fund Receipts 1830. 

Disbursem.ents State Treasury 1830. 

Slaves Must Not Be Taught to Read and Write. 

Census of North Carolina. 
1831. — Gov. Stokes' Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

McFarland's Resolution on Schools and Literary Fund. 

Taxation for Free School in Johnston County. 

Literary Fund Receipts. 

Slavery and Education. 

A Cruel Punishment Abolished. 

History of the First Teachers' Association. 

Plan of Schools by "People's Friend." 

Deaf and Dumb Asylum. 

Necessity for Schools. 

Lottery for Publication of N. C. History Refused. 

VOLUME II. 

1832. — Assembly Committees on Education. 
Central Normal School Proposed. 

Teachers and Students Not Exempt from Militia Duty. 
Ralph Freeman Must Not Preach. 
Slaves Must Not Preach in Public. 
Receipts of Literary Fund. 
Use of Literary Fund by State. 
Expenses of the State Government 1810-1832. 
Caldwell Letters on Popular Education. 



Table of Contents. vii 

1833. — Causes Which Retard Schools. 

The Cause of Emigration. 

Valuation of Property and Taxes Assessed 1833. 

Cost of Public Printing 1814-1833. 

Stock in Banks Owned By Literary Fund. 

Use of Literary Fund. 

Valuation of Property and Taxation 1815 and 1833. 

Social and Economic Conditions. 

Report of Literary Board. 

Gov. Swain's Message on Education. 

Why Schools Were Not Established. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Report and Resolution of Committee on Education. 

Objection to Cliartering Denominational Schools. 

"Old Field" on the Necessity for Schools. 
1834. — Taxation and Revenue System. 

Friends Ask for Repeal of Certain Slavery Laws. 

Johnston County Free School Law Repealed. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Assembly Resolutions on Education. 

House Report on Education. 

Proceedings of Literary Board. 

Report of Literary Board. 

McQueen's Education Bill. 

The Standard's Comment on McQueen's Bill. 

The Star on Free Schools. 
1835. — The New Constitution Should Provide for Public Schools. 

Gov. Swain's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Report of Literary Board. 

The Use Made of Literary Fund 1835. 

Proceedings of Literary Board. 

Charter for N. C. Bible Society Refused. 
1836-7. — Gov. Spaight's Message on Education. 

Assembly Committees on Education. 

Donaldson Academy Asks State Aid. 

Assembly Resolutions on Education. 

Literary Fund: Receipts. 

Legislation on Swamp Lands and Literary Fund. 

Proceedings of the Literary Board. 

Citizens of Fayetteville on Economic Conditions. 

Receipts, Disposition and Investment of the Surplus Revenue. 

Educational Conditions 1836. 
1838-9. — Popular Education: A Sermon. 

The Legislature Ought to Establish Schools. 

Gov. Dudley's Message on Education. 

Assemblv Committees on Litcrnrv Fnnd and Ediuation. 



viii Table ok Contents. 

1838-9. — Assembly Hesolutions on Educatiou. 

Report of Literary Board on Common Schools. 

Report on Literary Fund. 

Report of Committee on Education. 

Mr. Cherry's Original Bill. 

Mr. Hill's Original Bill. 

House Bill Reported from Committee of the Whole. 

Conference Bill and Conference Report. 

Newspaper Comment on School Bills. 

The Educational Campaign of 1839. 

Members Legislature by Counties. 

Literary Board 1827-1839. 

Proceedings of Literary Board 1838 and 1839. 



THE BEGIKMJNUS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, 1790-1840. 

One of the most interesting chapters in IS^orth Caro- introductory note 
lina history is the fifty years' agitation which preceded the 
enactment of the first public school law. These two vol- 
umes are the result of a desire to put the story of that 
agitation and the educational ideals of the people of that 
day in convenient form for the use of students of our social 
and economic history. 

Much of the material herein brought together has never 
before been published, or, if published, has remained in- 
accessible to all except a very few. This material is prac- 
tically complete. The documents are printed as they were 
written, mistakes and all. Whenever a paper could not 
be found, there is a note telling as much. 

In the summary which follows, I have tried to put in 
concise form what I conceive to be the meaning and the 
substance of the documents. It is my hope that this sum- 
mary may not prove wholly uninteresting to the general 
reader, and that it may call the attention of students to the 
importance of this phase of Il^J'orth Carolina history. 

I. Educational and Economic Conditions. 

■In 1790, j^orth Carolina was the third State of the Popniation 1790 

' and 1840; expenses 

Union in population, having at that time a total popula- ^ ^^te govem- 
tion of 393,751, of which 73.2 per cent was white. In 
1840, the State had fallen to seventh in population, having 
then a population of 753,419, of which 64.4 per cent was 
white. In 1790, the total expenses of the State govern- 
ment Avere only $41,480, and $24,000 of that sum was 
the cost of the legislature. As late as 1835, the actual 
expenses of the State government were a little less than 
$87,000 and the legislature cost $40,000. Governor Swain,^ Narrow bounds of 

' ^ ' ^ legislation. 

in his message to the legislature of 1833, said that "the 
apathy which has pervaded the legislation of half a cen- 

1 P. 652. 



Editor's Inthoduction. 



Educational con- 
ditions In 1835. 



An excuse for 
these conditions. 



A prophecy as to 
what historians 
will say ot the 
legislation of this 
period. 



North Carolina 
three centuries 
behind in educa- 
tion and other 
improvements ; 
causes stated by 
President Caldwel 



tury is most strikingly exhibited by the fact that the mere 
expenses of the General Assembly have ordinarily ex- 
ceeded the aggregate expenditures of all other departments 
of the government, united to the appropriations which 
have been made, for the purpose of Internal Improv(i- 
ment" ; and added, ^'that government can not be wisely 
administered, where those who direct the expenditure of 
the public treasure, receive more for this service than the 
amount of their disbursements." Two years later he la- 
mented the fact that there was then but one college in the 
State, but few respectable academies, and that there was 
no adequate provision "to diffuse even the elementary prin- 
ciples of education among the poor" ; also that there was 
then not a single work of internal improvement in prog- 
ress. The amiable governor excused this dark picture 
somewhat by saying that- the legislation of the general gov- 
ernment had alwaj^s been unfavorable to jSTorth Carolina, 
especially mentioning the land laws and the tariff.^ But 
he could not conclude his last message to the General As- 
sembly without telling it again that it spent too much on 
itself and without adding a paragraph^ declaring that "the 
history of our State Legislation during the first half cen- 
tury of our i^olitical existence, will exhibit little more to 
posterity than the annual imposition of taxes amounting to 
less than a hundred thousand dollars, one-half of which 
constituted the reward of the legislative bodies by which 
they were levied, while the remainder was applied to sus- 
tain the train of officers who superintend the machinery 
of government. The establishment of schools for the con- 
venient instruction of youth, and the development and im- 
provement of our internal resources by means beyond the 
reach of individual enterprise, will seem scarcely to have 
been regarded as proper objects of legislative concern." 

In 1829, Dr. Joseph Caldwell, in his address^ to the 
Internal Tinprovomeut Convention at T\aloif>h, declared 



P. 71 :i. 



n\ 714. 



P. 484. 



Editor's Introduction. xi 

that ]^ortli Carolina was three centuries behind in public 
improvements and education, and attributed this condition 
largely to the widespread and fatal delusion that taxation 
for such purposes was considered contrary to a republican 
form of government. There can be no doubt that the domi- 
nant sentiment made it well-nigh impossible, during this 
period, to carry through legislation on any subject not 
connected with the bare preservation of life, liberty, and 
property. This individualistic policy which paralyzed all 
efforts to establish schools and begin a comprehensive syb- 
tem of internal improvements seems to have been the out- 
growth of sparse population and what Dr. Caldwell called 
the fatal delusion that taxation was contrary to a republi- 
can form of government. But whatever the cause of it, 
the people of eastern JSTorth Carolina were unacquainted 
with those of the west. Unfortunate sectional jealousies 
were kept alive by lack of the means of communication 
between the sections, while commerce and trade languish'^d 
and the masses of the people remained poor and ig-norant, 
ready to oppose internal improvements and State aid to 
education as leading to aristocracy and taking the position 
that plain farmers and mechanics needed no education.^ 

These documents give, in many places, glimpses of the ^enSand'^^r- 
actual educational condition of the masses of the people. "^"''^^ ^*^^*^"^"^*- 
As early as 1810, Jeremiah Battle wrote that not more 
than one-third of the women in Edgecombe County could 
write their names.' In 1823, the Western Carolinian de- 
clared that the people at large were deplorably deficient 
in the rudiments of education."'' In 1824, an Edgecombe 
correspondent of the Raleigh Register speaks of the lack of 
knowledge among the country people.* The next year, a 
Lincolnton writer,^ in the Western Carolinian, says that 
"the dullness and incapacity which is permitted to enter 
our legislative hall, and disgrace us even in the national 
representation, and our former tame subserviency to the 

» P. 431. •■' P. 70. « p. 215. ' P. 244. " P. 2r)2. 



xu 



Euitok's Ia'tkoduction. 



Governor Owen on 
educational and 
economic condi- 
tions. 



President Caldwell 
on our social 
conditions. 



Teaching held in 
contempt; Cald- 
well's description 
of the North Caro- 
lina schoolmaster. 



interests of another State, evince most unequivocally tlio 
mental debasement of a large portion of our population." 
In 1830, Governor Owen said that we were behind other 
States and that our so-called policy of economy had kept the 
poor in ignorance and the State in poverty/ The same view 
of the situation was expressed by Upton in the Fayetteville 
Observer, when he said that our penny-saving legislators 
had doomed the people to ignorance." In 1832, Dr. Joseph 
Caldwell, in his letters on popular education, said that the 
people had long resisted any change in routine legislation ; 
that there was great aversion to taxation beyond the mere 
necessities of the government ; that the people lacked com- 
mercial opportunities ; that money was scarce and the mar- 
kets of the world were far away; that a large part of the 
people looked with indifference upon education, while many 
boasted of their ignorance of letters.^ In comparison "with 
other occupations, teaching was regarded with contempt.' 
The same authority described the North Carolina school- 
master by saying: ''Is a man constitutionally and habitu- 
ally indolent, a burden upon all from whom he can extract 
a support ? Then there is one way of shaking him off, 
let us make him a schoolmaster. To teach a school is, in 
the opinion of many, little else than sitting still and doing 
nothing. Has any man wasted all his property, or ended 
in debt by indiscretion and misconduct ? The business of 
school keeping stands wide open for his reception, and here 
he sinks to the bottom, for want of capacity to support 
himself. Has any one ruined himself, and done all he 
could to corrupt others, by dissipation, drinking, seduction, 
and a course of irregularities? 'Naj, has he returned 
from a prison after an ignominious atonement for some 
violation of the laws ? He is destitute of character and 
can not be trusted, but presently he opens a school and the 
children are seen flocking into it, for if he is willing to 
act in that capacity, we shall all admit that as he can read 



1 P. 458. 



« P. 356. 



« P. 545. 



* P. 560. 



Editor's Intkoduction. xiii 

and write, and cypher to the square root, he will make an 

excellent school master." And again, he says that "in our scarcely any one, 

, ^ 1 1 i • . i.1 • except an idiot, 

present mode oi popular education, we act upon tiie prin- not incompetent 

^ ^ ^ . ^ to teacii. 

ciple that school-keeping is a business to which scarcely 
any one but an idiot is incompetent, if he only knows 
reading, writing and arithmetic. If in almost every vicin- 
age there happens to be one or a few who have more cor- 
rect opinions, the numbers who think otherwise carry it 
over their heads, and our primary schools are kept sunk 
down to the lowest point of degradation, and education is 
disgraced by our own misconceptions and mismanage- 
ments." 

In 1826, Governor Burton said that primary education Gov. Burton on the 

' ^ "^ difficulty of obtaiQ- 

was more difficult to obtain than in 1776, and he lamented ji;,^,!?'"!^^^]^^^"^^*- 
the fact that the legislature had, for forty-nine years, eSmic'^condi- 
neglected to aid the establishment of primary schools, as*^°"^"^ 
required by the Constitution.^ The next year he said that 
sectional jealousies have palsied the energies of the State 
and rendered every system of improvement abortive.' In 
1833, the Legislative Joint Select Committee on Internal 
Improvements^ said that no class of our citizens were pros- 
perous ; that the thrift displayed by the citizens of other 
States was not visible in our borders ; that improvement in 
agTiculture and mechanic arts was not even attempted ; 
that intellectual advancement was retarded by poverty 
and listlessness ; that there were no good markets of easy 
access ; and that a comprehensive system of internal im- 
provements appeared the only means at hand to unite all 
sections and to improve educational and economic condi- 
tions. During the same year, the citizens of the town of Halifax citizens 

TTTc 1 -li ii'i • 1 • ^ give causes of 

Haliiax drew up a memorial to the legislature m which emigration, 
they said that the State was in a retrograding position and 
that our people were forced to seek homes elsewhere, be- 
cause "sufficient importance in intellectual, and physical 
improvements, has not been felt by the State generally." 

' P. 294. 2 P. 362. 3 p 615 a p gig 



XIV 



EDITOli'iS liSTTKODUCTION. 



Further statement 
of economic con- 
ditions in 1833. 



North Carolina said 
to be a century be- 
hind in education. 



Disturbing in- 
fluence of conven- 
tion question. 



Proposal to make 
school establish- 
ment a feature of 
new constitution. 



These citizens also said that prosperity and intelligence 
could only be aided by a system of internal improvements 
and public education. Of the same tenor was the report^ 
of another legislative committee of 1833, to whom was 
referred "sundry documents and schemes relating to the 
Internal Improvements of this State." This committee 
said that nine-tenths of our farming lands were then 
for sale and referred to the laggard policy of North 
Carolina in delaying for thirty years any general system 
of improvements. This report also referred to the preju- 
dice then existing against railroads and said that people 
were daily leaving the State to go where they would have 
better opportunities to reap the fruits of their labor. 

"Old Field," a correspondent of the Raleigh Register 
during 1833, grimly observed that he thought "the people 
will have to learn to spell internal improvements before 
they can comprehend the meaning of that term." And he 
added that ISTorth Carolina was then a century behind 
other States in education and all other subjects of impor- 
tance, caustically referring to the policy of borrowing the 
small Literary Fund each year, with which to pay the 
members of the legislature.^ 

The convention question was long a disturbing factor in 
the life of the State. After it had been settled, in 1834, 
that a convention would be called to amend the constitu- 
tion, the Raleigh Star said that this question had "long 
proved a bone of contention in the councils of the State, 
to the exclusion of calm deliberation on everything else."^ 
On the eve of the assembling of this convention, a Raleigh 
Standard correspondent, who signed himself "D," sug- 
gested that the new constitution should contain a provision 
regarding public schools, and argued that the lack of 
schools was daily draining the State of wealth and popula- 
tion. This article resulted in a declaration on the part 
of the Standard, oft repeated, in favor of "the universal 



1 P. 631. 



« P. 670. 



•'P. 707. 



Editor's IntkobuctioiM. xv 

diltiision of the blessings of education.''' But no change 
was made in the educational clause of the constitution of 
1776, nor was the question considered by the convention of 
1835. 

From 1835 to 1840, conditions do not seem to have im- Sand Gov"?Dud- 
proved to any great extent. In a memorial- to the legisla- alfd^e'dueationa? 
ture of 1836-7, the citizens of Fayetteville represented 
that they had year after year witnessed "with pain and 
mortification the depressed condition which each section of 
our State presents." . The memorial also spoke of the '*dis- 
content, decay and ruin" manifest throughout the State, 
and of the "illiberal and contracted policy to force our 
people" to ''go forth and seek other lands." In his inaug- 
ural address,^ in 1837, Governor Dudley said that ISTorth 
Carolina was "actually least in the scale of relative wealth 
and enterprise" ; that her "lands [were] depressed in price, 
fallow and deserted" ; that her "manufacturing advan- 
tages [were] unimproved," her "stores of mineral wealth 
undisturbed" ; and that her "colleges and schools [were] 
languishing from neglect." 

In 1838, Rev. A. J. Leavenworth,* a Charlotte Presby- illiteracy in isss. 
terian clergyman, estimated that "we have probably 120 
thousand children between the ages of 5 and 15 years, who 
are destitute of a common school education." He further 
said that "in some parts of the State, many large families 
are found, not one of whom, parents or children, can read 
their alphabet ; and in others, whole neighborhoods of forty 
and fifty families exist, among whom but few individuals 
can read their Bible." In his report^ on education to the 
legislature of 1838, Wm. W. Cherry said that "those who 
have mixed much with the people of our State know that 
there is an average of nearly half of every family in the 
State, who have reed no education and who are as yet 
unprovided with the means of Learning even to read and . 
write." And the Western Carolinian^ remarked about the 



1 P. 710. « P. 795. 8 P. 803. * P. 818. ^ P. 862. « P. 816. 



XVI 



Editor's Intkoduction. 



Why so little was 
done. 



Wealth of State 
in 1833. 



same time upon ''the prejudice entertained by some lO 
have their children educated in a 'free school,' preferring 
them to remain in ignorance rather than have them edu- 
cated at the public expense." 

But why was so little done, by the legislature during all 
these years, to remedy the educational condition of the 
State ? In 1834, an assembly resolution^ to inquire into 
the "present facilities for instruction ]30ssessed by the peo- 
ple of North Carolina" failed of consideration. And the 
Raleigh Star,- about the same time, naively inquired: 
"Can it be presumed for a moment that the Legislature 
would have so long indulged in a profound and listless 
apathy on the subject of popular education, if it had been 
sensible of the number living in ignorance and dying in 
darkness ?" Possibly the remark of the Western Carolin- 
ian ten years earlier touched the question more nearly 
when it said that the people complained much of taxes and 
would not approve the establishment of schools by that 
means, and expressed the opinion that the only hope of 
their establishment lay in providing a permanent school 
fund.^ Then the popular idea that a State with such 
sparse population and no large towns could not inaintain 
a system of public schools, undoubtedly had its effect on 
legislative action. It was true that New Bern, the largest 
town in 1820, had only 3,663 population, 2,218 of whom 
were negroes. But as early as 1816,* the landed property 
of the State was valued at $53,521,513. The personal 
property valuation at that time must have been at least 
'$100,000,000, for in 1838 the Literary Board' estimated 
the land value of the State at $64,000,000 and the personal 
property at $136,000,000, making an aggregate value of 
$200,000,000, notwithstandingthe fact that the State Treas- 
urer said in 1833 that the deficient property assessment 
laws and the poll-tax listing laws resulted in defrauding 
the State out of as much revenue each year as was actually 



1 P. 680. 



* P. 704. 



« P. 238. 



P. 622. 



5 P. 834. 



Editor's Intkouuction. xvii 

collected/ The actual revenue then collected was about 

$68,000. If this amount had been doubled by proper Public schools 

^ ' .7 possible before 1840 

legislation as Governor Svpain and others urged, it is easy a°fi ^hy. 
to see that an educational income nearly as large as was 
actually in hand in 1840 could have been easily provided 
as early as 1830, and possibly much earlier. These facts 
seem to dispose effectively of the argument so often ad- 
vanced during these years that the State was doing all it 
was able to do on the subject of education. 

But it would not be a true picture to recite all these Educational ideals, 
things and not say something of the educational ideals 
voiced by so many of the leading men of this period. 
Though their voices were unheard for a long time, still 
what they said about education must have had some weight. 
It is, at least, true that what these men said has great 
historic value in any discussion of the evolution of our 
social institutions. 

In 1802, Governor Williams called the attention of the Educational ideals 

of some early 

legislature to the subject of education and said that edu- governors, 
cation would enable the people to appreciate their civil and 
political righte." The next year, Governor Turner said 
that education was the foe of tyranny.^ In his message 
of 180-4, he said that prosperity and happiness depended 
on education, and mentioned the subject of taxation for 
schools.^ In 1811, Governor Smith observed that educa- 
tion prevented crime, ^ while Governor Stone two years ear- 
lier had suggested the establishment of schools secondary 
to the University, the first mention of State aid to high 
schools in these documents.® 

The narrow courses of study then dominating all the opponents of nar- 
schools had vigorous opponents. In 1803, OTarrell's study, 
school bill declared that the dead languages were not nec- 
essary to be taught in the schools of a republican govern- 
ment. '^ In 1810, Jeremiah Battle raised objection to the 

» PP. 622, 628, 672. =* P. 31. « P. 43. + P. 49. - P. 80. 

« P. 60. ^ P. 46. 



xviii Editok's 1:n'tkoductio]\'. 

dead Jauguages as the basis of all education.^ In au ac- 
count of the course of study in one of the Warrenton 
female academies, 1810, it was said that the standard 
English authors were read.' In 1795, Eev. John Alex- 
ander wished both "books and needles" to plaj a part in 
the education of his daughters.^ Before 1810, music, 
painting and embroidery were taught in the Ealeigh 
Academy/ 

lutarefevored^" ^^ early as 1810, an agricultural society was formed in 
Edgecombe and a library of books on agriculture began to 
be collected. ° In 1822, Governor Holmes lamented the 
neglect of agricultural education and suggested the teach- 
ing of agriculture in the State University. He also re- 
ferred to the fact that the learned professions were crowd- 
ed with incompetents who might make excellent farmers.® 
The next year he urged the acquisition of a farm near the 
University, on which students might be taught agricul- 
ture.'^ In 1826, Robert Potter, of Halifax, intro- 
duced a bill in the General Assembly to establish a politi- 
cal college on a farm in Wake County. This college, if 
established, would have had a professor of agriculture and 
the students would have spent a considerable part of their 
time in farm work.^ In 1831, a law passed the General 
Assembly to establish a free school in Johnston County. 
This school was to have a farm attached and trades were 
to be taught." In 1836, Donaldson x'^.cademy at Fayette- 
ville asked State aid for the equipment of a manual labor 
department, a teachers' department, and an engineering 
department.^" These facts are abundant evidence that 
this period possessed many men who fully realized the 
importance of training in agricultural and mechanic arts, 
but possibly the presence of slavery had something to do 
with the failure of all their plans. 

Educational ideals However, it was not the earlv governors alone, who 

of other governors ' J o ' 

and citizens. 

iP. 69. 2 P. 77. 3 P. 10. *P. 76. sp 71 « p. 195. ' P. 212. 
» P. 300. » P. 494. 1 " P. 736. 



Editok'« Iktkoduction. xix 

voiced educational ideals beyond their day and generation, 
as these documents show. In 1815, Governor Miller was 
democratic enough to say that public education was the 
only means by which all could be educated, and that edu- 
cation was the surest means of breaking down class dis- 
tinctions/ The next year he declared that ignorance was 
best if you intended to make slaves of men." In 181G, 
Judge Murphey proposed a system of public instruction to 
include the rich and the poor, in primary and secondary 
and higher schools. He even included the education of 
the deaf and diunb and the clothing and feeding of poor 
children at public expense, in his plan." In 1817, John 
M. Walker declared that liberty would vanish when wealth 
and education were the possession of the few only.'* In 

1824, Charles A. Hill declared on the floor of the Senate 
that education was the foe of tyrants and the foundation 
of liberty ; that education and civilization go hand in hand ; 
and that ignorance was the cause of vice, while vice fol- 
lowed the neglect of the education of the children." In 

1825, an anonymous correspondent of the Western Caro- 
liivlan spoke of intelligence as the life of liberty, of educa- 
tion as the only sure basis of agricultural and commercial 
prosperity, and of the patriotic duty of all to promote the 
cause of public schools.*^ During the same year, Governor 
Burton placed the establishment of a system of public edu- 
cation above internal improvements in importance, because 
of its influence on the moral character of the people and 
the preservation of our political institutions.' In 1827, 
Upton, in the Fayetteville Observer, said that virtue would 
always be found in the train of education, that the pros- 
perity of our neighboring States was due to the diffusion 
of knowledge, and that schools were intimately connected 
with the future well-being of our political institutions.^ In 
1829, Charles R. Kinney answered the argument that it 
was unjust to tax one man to educate another's children. 



1 P. 100. 8 P. 103. " P. 106. * P. U7. " p. 224. « P. 252. 
^ P. 263. 8 p_ 356. 



XX Editor's Intkoduction. 

by saying that the blood of the poor man was very often 
spilt in defense of the rich man's property/ In 1830, the 
Raleigh Register reminded the people that the legislature 
was under a solemn moral obligation to provide education 
for all the white people of the State.' And about the 
same time Governor Owen said in his message to the legis- 
lature that vice, irreligion and poverty were the results of 
ignorance, and that a tax on the rich for the education of 
Opponents of the poor was justifiable.^ In 1831, the Raleigh Register 

schools enemies of. ,.., • c 

tiie people. made its strongest editorial utterance m favor oi schools. 

It declared: ''Let this be the test word by which the peo- 
ple try every candidate for office: is he friendly to free 
schools ; popular education ? If not, he should be marked 
as an enemy to the people ; to their rights as freemen ; as 
anti-republican in his principles, and unworthy of the con- 
fidence of those for whose benefit this Government was 
Present day ideal instituted."* But the prcseut-day idea that it is the duty 
Friends. " of the State to provide education for all, regardless of race 

or financial condition, is nowhere clearly stated in these 
documents, except in the memoriaP of the Friends, sent to 
the legislature of 1834, wherein they protest against cer- 
tain repressive slavery laws,*^ such as jDrohibiting slaves 
and free negroes from preaching and making it a crime to 
teach a slave to read and to write. This memorial boldly 
declared "it unnecessary to urge the incontrovertible argu- 
ments that might be advanced from reason and Eeligioii. 
to prove that it is the indispensable duty of the Legislature 
of a Christian peoj)le to enact laws and establish regula- 
tions for the literary instruction of every class, within its 
limits ; and that such provisions should be consistent with 
sound policy, tend to strengthen the hands of Government 
and promote the peace and harmony of the community at 
large." This fine educational statement, far in advance 
of the times, fell on deaf ears. Some of our so-called 



1 P. 440. 2 P. 454. 3 P. 458. ^ P. 528. ' P. 675. " Pp. 477, 
503, 536. 



Editor's Inteoductiox. xxi 

wisest meu of that day coutiiiucd to talk about "the educa- 
tion of the poor" and to introduce measures for the educa- 
tion of that class and to jDropose still harsher measures 
governing- slaves. But Jeremiah Hubbard, or whoever 
wrote this Friends' memorial, was the wisest educational 
prophet of the period, in that he saw clearly the necessity 
of educating all classes of the people and the futility of 
making laws to repress the natural instinct of all human 
beings for more knowdedge. 

These references are sufficient to give the reader some conclusion. 
idea of the educational creed of the Avisest leaders of this 
period of our history. Their bold and concise statements 
of the educational duty of the State have not yet been 
realized in North Carolina. From what has been said, it 
is easy to see why they were impossible before 1840. 

n. Educational Agitation: Measures and Results. 

Hatred of taxation, sparse population, primitive means Barriers t« commu 

^ ^ jr jr ; i mty action. 

of communication, the presence of slavery, the educational 
destitution of the masses of the people, and the lack of a 
common religion made it extremely difficult during this 
period to gain friends for any measure looking to social and 
physical improvement. The people of the State lived 
apart. It took many long years to unite all the diverse 
elements of our population and to fuse them into one 
homogeneous people. The New England States did not 
have to go through this long process of fusion, hence they 
could begin earlier than North Carolina the work of public 
education and the realization of the ideals of great lead- 
ers. Here our educational leaders had to be content to 
utter their voices in the wilderness and then await the slow 
and tedious changes from an individualistic life to that of 
community cooperation. 

Even in colonial days, Governor Dobbs with the aid of Proposed colonial 

free schools. 

a number of our leading men proposed to establish one 
free school in each county. But the measure failed, partly 



xxii Editor's Intkoduction. 

because the governor and tlie Assembly disagreed about 
other matters and partly because no adequate means could 
be provided after the disappointing settlement the colony 
secured incident to the winding up of its claims against 
the mother country for its services in the French and In- 
dian War/ 

wrighfand innes. But individuals were not wanting in those early days, 
possessing a keen appreciation of the educational needs 
of the people. In 1744, James Winwright left a bequest 
to establish a free school in Beaufort. In 1754, James 
Innes left his property by will to establish a free school 
for the benefit of the youth of North Carolina. But both 
of these bequests failed to realize the hopes of the donors." 

Educational ('lause When the Constitution of 1776 was framed, its 41st sec- 

in Constitution of . . . i c i • • • c 

1776. tion provided that schools for the convenient instruction of 

youth should be established and that one or more univer- 
sities should encourage all useful learning. This clausa 
was always interpreted by the friends of education to mean 
that public schools were required to be provided by the 
legislature, as well as the support of the State University. 
Hence we hear often during this period the newspaper.-, 
the governors, and others reminding the legislature of its 

Academy plan first solcmu duty to provido f or public education. But the 

hope of people to ./ x x 

establish public failure of the legislature to carry out the 41st section of 

.scho<>ls. ^ ^ 

the constitution of 1776, except in the one particular of 
chartering the University in 1789 and providing for its 
meager support, caused the early growth of the idea of 
State aid for academies already established by private 
means, as well as encouraged individuals to supply the 
lack of public schools. In 1795, Eev. John Alexander 
left a conditional bequest to provide education for the 
poor children of Hertford and Bertie counties.^ In 179S, 



1 State Records, XXIII, 392 ; Colonial Records, \, 298, 496, 573, 
1041 , 1095 ; Colonial Records, VI, 5, 477. 

^Pp. 2, 4, 5. These documents are not printed in the Colonial 
Records, hence their presence here. 

•T. 11. 



Editor's Introduction. xxiii 

Warrenton Academy asked State aid to assist the efforts of 
private individuals, observing that this academy had been 
preparing youth for the State University, ^'A circumstance 
they humbly conceive that can not fail of attracting At- 
tention, and inducing Consent to their present prayer." 
This request was refused on the ground that the condition 
of the finances of the State did not warrant making the 
donation/ In 1801, the citizens of Raleigh asked the 
Assembly to give them a lot in the town of Kaleigh on 
which to erect an academy, which was granted on the con- 
dition that the title to the property should remain in the 
State.' The same year the trustees of I^ew Bern Acad- 
emy asked release from the payment of the balance on 
their bond given the State for the purchase-price of one of 
the "Palace" lots. This request was rejected as im- 

proper to be granted.^ 

Speakina; of educational conditions in 1794, Judge Mur- biiis to aid acade- 

^ ^ ' o mies introduced. 

phey declared there were, at that time, not more than three 
schools in the State "in which the rudiments of a classical 
education could be acquired," while there was great lack 
of books in even these few schools pertaining to history and 
literature.* This condition of education, no doubt, caused 
Governor Williams to urge some "adequate and suitable 
means for the general diffusion of learning and science 
throughout the State," in 1802.^ This same year, Gen. 
Joseph Graham submitted his plan for a State Military 
Academy." The next year, Governor Turner urged the 
establishment of schools in every part of the State,'' and 
two bills were introduced in the Assembly looking to the 
establishment of academies. One of these bills, Dudley's, 
proposed to establish an academy in each superior court 
district and partialy support them by escheats f the other, 
O'Farrell's, proposed to establish county academies of sci- 
ence but provided no certain means of support.^ Both 

' P. 14. 2 P. 2.5. » P. 28. » P. 22. « P. 31. « P. 82. ' P. 43. 
■* P. 44. « P. 46. 



xxiv Editok\s Intkoduction. 

Free school socif- tliese bills failed. In 1804, Governor Turner said he was 

ties and their work. ,. „ . -, en i-'^i ii-i 

desirous oi seeing some plan oi education introduced wnicn 
would "extend itself to every corner of the State."^ He 
observed that ''many respectable academies have been insti- 
tuted in dilferent parts of the State" and that "several of 
them have failed for the want of sufficient support, and 
others are in a languishing state." But the Assembly 
paid no attention to his recommendation. The next year 
he again called attention to the subject of education "upon 
some plan that shall be general and effective, whether by 
affording some uniform support to one or more well regu- 
lated school or schools in every county in the State, after 
the example of our sister State South Carolina, or in some 
other adequate mode, is submitted to your wisdom."'- And 
again the legislature failed to consider the subject in any 
way. 

While Governor Turner was urging the legislature to 
take some action relative to establishing schools, a society 
of citizens of Edgecombe County, raised two or three hun- 
dred dollars to establish a free school for the education of 
poor children. Some few children received the benefit of 
this charity, but the intended school was never established.^ 

Between 1800 and 1825, these societies for the educa- 
tion of poor children seem to have been numerous, and to 
have had considerable influence in securing funds for their 
work. Besides the society in Edgecombe, there were socie- 
ties in New Bern, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Ealeigh, 
Wayne County, and Johnston County. The l^ew Bern 
charitable society for the education of poor females was in- 
corporated by the legislature of 1812.* The Wayne 
County free school was incorporated in 1813,^ as was the 
Fayetteville orphan asylum, whose object was to clothe, 
educate and bind out to trades poor orphan children.® The 
Wilmington Female Benevolent Society was incorporated 
in 1817, and its objects were declared to be "to secure to 

iP. 49. -P. 52. 3 P. 71. ^P. 83. -^ P. 89. «P. 91. 



EdITOh's [a^TKODUCTIO]^^. XXV 

poor children and destitute orphans, a moral and religious, 
as well as a common education ; and besides furnishing with 
such education, to adopt, support and provide with situa- 
tions that are useful.'" In 1822, the Bcdeigh Register 
mentioned the work of the Female Benevolent Society of 
that place and said its purpose was to promote "industry 
and instruction of the children of indigent parents in the 
first rudiments of learning." The course of study in this 
school embraced instruction in the "rudiments of English 
language, the common rules of Arithmetic, Writing, Sew- 
ing and Knitting."" In 1825, the Orange County Sun- 
day School Union sent a memorial to the legislature in 
which they said that their society had taught many poor 
children to read and asked an annual donation of twenty- 
five cents for each scholar for the purpose of supplying 
hooks. This request was promptly rejected.^ In 1831, 
the Johnston County Free School Law was passed. This 
law proj30sed to establish a central county free school, sup- 
ported by county taxation, in which trades were to be 
taught. Permission was given the trustees to locate the 
school on a farm and to require the poor pupils educated in 
the school to teach after the completion of their studies. 
This law was repealed in 1834.'* 

In addition to the efforts of these societies to improve the Bequests to estab- 

^ lish free schools. 

educational condition of the masses, these dociunents refer 
to the generosity of Miles Benton, of Gates County, who 
left his property to establish a free school f to Alexander 
Dixon, of Duplin County, who left $12,000 in 1814 to 
establish a charity school for the poor children of that 
county ;^ and to Moses Grifiin, of l^ew Bern, who left a 
considerable bequest, in 1816, to establish a free school for 
poor children.'^ Benton's bequest was lost in litigation 
which arose over the settlement of his estate. Griffin's 
heirs brought suit to test the constitutionality of the be- 



1 P. 166. 2 p_ 208. 3 P. 283. ^ Pp. 494, 678. ^ P. 86 ; 181.S. 
«P. 94 ^P. 114. 



XXVI 



EdiTOe's iNTRODUCTIOISr. 



Legislative indif- 
ference to estab- 
lishment of 
schools. 



Murphey's report 
of 1816. 



quest on the ground that it created a perpetuity contrary to 
our State Constitution. In 1820, the Supreme Court de- 
clared the bequest legal, but unfortunate management of 
the fund resulted in failure to establish the school prior to 
1840. This fund is still in existence in diminished amount 
and is now used by the public schools of the town of New 
Bern. The Dixon Fund was also mismanaged, but is still 
in existence, yielding an income of a little less than $150 
annually, and is used as a part of the public school funds 
of Duplin County. 

From 1806 to 1814, the legislative records of the State 
do not disclose enough interest in education on the part of 
the Assembly to consider the subject in any form, although 
Governors Alexander, Williams, Stone, Smith and Haw- 
kins repeatedly urged the consideration of the subject as 
of highest importance. In 1815, Governor Miller re- 
minded the legislature that only by public aid could "the 
temple of science" be opened to all, and urged the consid- 
eration of some plan by which every member of the com- 
munity could receive the benefits of education.^ But still 
nothing was done beyond the appointment of a joint com- 
mittee of the two houses, consisting of Frederick ]!^ash, 
Simmons J. Baker, and James McKay, the first education 
committee ever appointed.' The next year Governor Mil- 
ler warned the Assembly of the dangers of a union of two 
such powerful agents as wealth and talents and proposed 
the consideration of providing a fund for the education of 
all the people.^ On the education committee of 1816 was 
Senator Archibald D. Murphey, of Orange. Murphey had 
proposed to refer the governor's remarks on education to a 
special committee,* and later he was made chairman of the 
comanittee and wrote with his own hand its wonderfully in- 
teresting report,^ in which he declared that the State's 
strength lay in the great mass of the people, that the State 
should afford to all the means to liecome enliiihteued with- 



» P. 100. 



- P. 101. 



•'' P. I0:i 



' P. 104. 



P. 105. 



Editor's Introduction. xxvii 

out distinction of class, and that primary and secondary 
schools should be established leading directly to the Uni- 
versity. At the close of this report Mr. Murphey proposed 
the appointment of a committee "to digest a system of pub- 
lic instruction" and submit it to the next General As- 
sembly.^ 

When the Assembly met in 1817, Governor Miller in- Mnrphey's report 
vited its attention to the subject of education "in a par- 
ticular manner," and on November 29, Mr. Murphey sub- 
mitted his plan for the establishment of public schools." 
In brief his plan was to provide a school fund to be man- 
aged by six commissioners with the governor at their head, 
with power to locate schools, to fix salaries of teachers, to 
appoint the trustees of the secondary schools, and to devise 
a plan for the promotion of pupils from the primary 
schools to the secondary, which were to prepare students for 
the university. His plan further provided that the coun- 
ties were to be divided into townships with primary schools 
in each and also that the incorporated towns were to estab- 
lish such schools, all aided by a combination of State and 
local funds. The secondary schools were to be aided by 
the State's paying one-third the salaries of the teachers. 
There were to be ten secondary schools. Mr. Murphey's 
plan further included many details relating to the organi- 
zation of schools and their courses of study, their method of 
instruction and discipline, the education of poor children 
at public expense, and the establishment of an asylum for 
the education of the deaf and dumb. On December 1(>, 
Mr. Murphey introduced a bilP to carry into effect the 
recommendations contained in his report. This bill passed 
its first reading in each house and then disappeared. There 
is no record to show what disposition was made of the 
measure. It is certain, however, that it did not become a 
law, and it is also within bounds to say that this measure 
and the report on it embraced the profouudest and most 

« P. in. *P. 123. =*?. 165. 



xxviii Editoe's Intkoductiojst. 

eoiiipi'elieusive educational wisdom ever presented for the 
consideration of a North Carolina legislature, 
walker's report of j^ollowlng Mr. Murphej's report of 1817, there was pre- 
sented another report^ by one of the committee appointed 
in 1816. This report was signed hj John M. Walker. 
Mr. Walker's plan consisted in providing for the educa- 
tion of teachers. His theory was to educate a great num- 
ber of teachers, thereby reducing by competition the price 
of tuition to that level at which all parents might be able to 
pay for the education of their children. 
esSsbandregu- ^^'^len the Assembly of 1818 met, Governor Branch 
late schools. called its attention to the constitutional requirement to 

establish schools, and added that "we are bound as servants 
of the people under the solemnities of an oath to steer the 
vessel of State ; and when we connect this imperious duty 
with the luminous and impressive appeals which have been 
so often made to the Legislature for the last year or two, I 
apprehend that nothing that I could add would impart 
additional force."' During this session of the Assembly, 
William Martin, of Pasquotank, introduced a bilP to estab- 
lish and regulate schools, which passed its second reading 
in the Senate but met death in the House of Commons on 
its first reading. This bill provided for the establishment 
of schools in each militia district, under the direction of 
five county commissioners chosen by the county courts. 
There were to be three committeemen for each school to 
employ the teacher, fix the rates of tuition, and to desig- 
nate the poor children to be taught free. This law further 
provided that each teacher was to receive an annual salary 
of $100 to be paid out of the public funds and two-thirds 
of the tuition money. Each county was empowered to levy 
a tax of as much as 10 cents on each $100 valuation of 
property and 50 cents on each poll in support of schools. 
And finally, this law provided free books and supplies for 
poor children. 

iP. 147. ^F.n\. 3p_i74_ 



Editok's Introduction. xxix 

The next year Governor Branch declared that education |'ii|'.'iy^p"ojfoscd'' 
was the paramount question in JSTorth Carolina and called 
attention to the '"languishing condition of some of our 
nurseries of science."^ During this year the Blakeley Ga- 
zette'- said that public sentiment favored the establishment 
of free schools, but that there was a division of opinion as 
to the best plan, whether by providing a school fund or by 
endowing central academies and requiring them to estab- 
lish branch public schools. But Governor Branch's mes- 
sage could not be wholly neglected. The education com- 
mittee, through its Chairman, Emanuel Shober, made a 
somewhat lengthy report in which it was admitted that 
the children of the State could not be educated by private 
means and suggested establishing a school fund on the 
basis of the Cherokee lands or the bank stock then owned 
by the State, the proceeds to be applied to education in 
the several counties.^ 

The Assembles of 1820 and 1821 did not consider the Attempt to secure 

national aid and to 

school question, but in 1822 Governor Holmes made such subsidize acade- 

••■ ' _ mies. 

an earnest appeal for carrying out the constitutional re- 
quirement in regard to schools that the taxes on auctioneers 
were jDroposed to be devoted to aiding academies^ and a 
special committee report on the policy of the national gov- 
ernment relative to the proceeds of the sale of public lands 
was rendered and a resolution adopted, asking Congress to 
appropriate the proceeds of such sales to the States for 
purposes of education.*' But nothing came of either pro- 
posal. However, the friends of education did not despair mirs resolution to 

.^ , establish schools 

in the face of so many failures. When the legislature of ignored. 
1823 met. Governor Holmes^ repeated his suggestion about 
teaching agriculture in the University, while J. A. Hill, 
of ISTew Hanover, introduced a resolution directing the 
committee on education to inquire into the expediency of 
establishing schools in conformity with the 41st section of 

1 P. 180. 2 p 182. ••' p. 184. * P. 194. '- P. 197. '■ P. 199. 
^ P. 212. 



XXX Editok's InTKODU(JTIO^V. 

the constitutiou. But this committee made no report and 
introduced no bills,^ altliougli the Western Carolinian as- 
sured the legislature that no appropriation which it could 
make would be so little objected to as one for the support 
heha^mue'^hopes ^'^ commou schools.^ The next year Governor Holmes, in 
legislation?" his message,'^ spoke of the overflowing treasury of the 

State, and regretted that not one cent had been appro- 
priated to improve the minds of the children. "But," 
said he, "I have harped on it so often that I now touch the 
chord with almost hopeless expectations and frigid indiffer- 
ence." Still he thought the legislature would not hesi- 
tate to create a fund to promote the education of the peo- 
ple. But in this expectation he was to be disappointed. 
His suggestion* relative to the creation of a school fund. 
Ml} Ms!" °°^ ^'^"'^ however, met with a hearty response from Charles A. Hill, 
of Franklin, chairman of the Senate committee on educa- 
tion, who introduced a bill,^ on December 6, 1824, to carry 
out the wishes of the chief executive. This measure had 
for its long and singular title : "A Bill to create a fund 
for the purpose of educating that part of the infant popu- 
lation of the State who shall from time to time be found 
destitute of the means of becoming otherwise properly 
taken care of in that particular." This bill provided 
''that all the Bank stock, which shall be acquired by this 
State, through the investment of the Treasury notes or- 
dered to be issued by the last General Assembly ; together 
with all the monies which shall annually be collected from 
taxes at present laid on Gates, natural and artificial curi- 
osities, peddlers, negro traders, and Billiard tables" shall 
belong to the school fund. The management of the fund 
was placed in the hands of the governor, the secretary of 
State, the treasurer, and the comptroller. On the third 
reading, the Senate passed the bill,® 38 ayes to 16 noes, but 



1 P. 214. 2 p, 215. s p 217. * John Haywood, State Treasurer, 
this year suggested a plan for a school fund. See p. 236. ^ P. 219- 
« p. 222. 



EdITOK's iNTltUDUCTION. XXxi 

the liuuse of Coimiions reiecteJ it. The luwer liou^^tj Ashe's bin to edu- 
cate the youth of 

earlier in the session had indefinitely postponed a bill^ by the poor rejected, 
one of its own members, Samuel P. Ashe, of Cumberland; 
entitled : "A Bill providing a fund and plan for the Educa- 
tion of the youth of the poor in the different Counties of 
this State." This bill contained a provision for county 
commissioners of schools, one from each captain's district, 
to be appointed by the governor, vv^ith the chairman of the 
county court as chairman of the board of conunissioners 
to manage the schools. The duties of the commissioners 
were declared to be the apportionment of the county school 
fund and the determination of the poor children to be edu- 
cated at public expense. The commissioners were em- 
powered to elect a treasurer and a secretary. This bill 
contemplated supporting the schools by a direct appropria- 
tion from the State treasury and made no provision for 
county or local taxation in any form. These measures and 
a resolution to appoint John Louis Taylor, Joseph Cald- committee to^pre- 
well, Peter Browne, and Duncan Cameron a committee to P^^buc schools, 
prepare a plan or system of Public Education for the in- 
struction of children of poor or indigent parentage" and 
report to the next Assembly^ constituted all the educational 
work of the Legislature of 1824. 

Affain the legislature had met and done nothino- to es- sentiment in favor 

~ o ^ of some action in- 

tablish public schools. But "A. B.", in the Western''^^^^'''s in Yigor. 
Carolinian, about this time, said that ISTorth Carolina had 
always acted as if nothing could be done. However, ho 
observed that in case of war the State could annually sup- 
port with ease 1,000 men in the field, and could now as 
easily support 1,000 teachers half the year,^ An Edge- 
combe correspondent of the Raleigh Register also urged 
the establishment of public schools, and spoke of a public 
meeting recently held in that county to petition the legis- 
lature to establish them.^ Although the legislature of 
1824 had done nothing for education, still it looked like 

1 P. 229. « P. 235. « p. 241-3. * P. 244. 



XXXll 



Editor's Introduction. 



The real reason 
why schools were 
not established. 



Work of Legisla- 
ture of 1825; Gov. 
Burton's memora- 
ble message. 



the sentiment in favor of some action was increasing in 
strength and vigor as the years went by. As soon as th(} 
legislature passed the joint resolution to appoint Judge 
Taylor and others to formulate a plan for establishing 
public schools, the Raleigh Register^ said that nothing had 
before prevented their establishment ''but the difficulty of 
forming a suitable plan for effecting the object." For 
once the Register nodded. This had always been the last 
excuse of the opponents of public schools for not estab- 
lishing them, but no one .can, at this distance, believe that 
was the real reason. Every conceivable plan had been 
proposed that could have been proposed ; first, to subsidize 
the academies; second, to create a school fund; third, to 
support the schools by a combination of local taxation and 
permanent income, which was Murphey's plan ; and fourth, 
to establish schools by county taxation. But none of these 
could be gotten through the legislature, all because, if we 
are to believe the Register, no suitable plan had yet been 
proposed ! The truth is that no local or county taxation 
measure could pass, because that would raise taxes. And 
the creation of a permanent school fund large enough to 
suppoi-t a system of schools was only remotely possible by 
setting aside for that purpose all the bank stock then 
owned by the State, the income of which was being used 
at that time to help defray the expenses of the State gov- 
ernment. This plan would have resulted in raising taxes 
indirectly and would have meant the same thing as estab- 
lishing schools by direct taxation. But the majority of 
the people were not ready to increase their taxes in order 
to establish public schools and that is the real and only good 
reason why they were not established. 

In October, 1825, the Register- said that it trusted mat 
"our Legislators will consider it among their most sacred 
duties to adopt immediate and efficacious steps for estab- 
lishing public schools." On the assembling of the legis- 



1 P. 251. 



2 P. 257. 



Editor's Introduction. xxxiii 

lature, Governor Burton^ sent it one of the strongest edu- 
cational messages ever sent to a iTorth Carolina assembly. 
He said that internal improvements were important, but 
that education was more important ; that the former re- 
garded only the face of the country and the pecuniary in- 
terests of the people, but that the latter was concerned 
with the temporal and eternal happiness of mankind. He 
pleaded earnestly for brushing aside every difficulty in the 
way of establishing schools, though they arose at every 
step. He also said that "if the preservation of our politi- 
cal principles in their original purity be of any value — if 
the moral character of the people be matter of moment — 
if honest merit should have fair play in our elections, 
then let us not delay, but immediately begin the important 
work !" And much more of the same tenor. 

Early in the session the people of the county of Beau- 
fort sent a petition" to the Assembly asking for the estab- 
lishment of free schools, and Mr. Ashe, of Cumberland, 
again called attention to the subject by a resolution^ in- 
structing the committee on education "to inquire into the 
expediency of reporting a bill creating a fund for, and a 
plan by which common schools may be established." The committee report 

, . ... 1 1 ^'^ P'*" ^^ educa- 

committee appointed m 1824 sent m their report through tion. 
the governor. This recommended the division of the 
State into school districts, the election of twelve to four- 
teen county school commissioners by the county court, th« 
appointment of three committeemen for each district, a 
county tax for the erection of a schoolhouse and a teach- 
er's house in each district and for the payment of the sala- 
ries of teachers. There were also recommendations that 
the people of the districts be given the selection of teach- 
ers, that the chairman of the county commissioners should 
have some supervisory powers over the schools, and that 
all teachers must be able to teach reading, English gi*am- 
mar, and the ordinary rules of arithmetic. In its essential 
features this plan did not differ materially from some of 



1 P. 263. -' P. 266. » P. 266. 

c 



XXXIV 



Editor's Lxtroductiox. 



Failure of lottery 
scheme and pas- 
sage of Literary 
Fund law of 1825. 



those previously submitted. Its essence was that the 
schools were to be supported by taxation, hence no attention 
was paid to its recommendations.^ Two days after this 
report was presented, Wm. M. Sneed, of Granville, intro- 
duced a bill in the Senate to raise a common school fund 
by lottery, but this bill never passed the Senate". And on 
December 22, Mr. Hill, of Franklin, again submitted a 
bill to create a permanent school fund, similar to the bill 
he introduced the previous year.^ This bill with slight 
amendment became the Literary Fund Law of 1825. Its 
exact title was '^'An act to create a fund for the establish- 
ment of common schools.''' The fund thus created, in the 
language of the act, consisted of "dividends arising from 
the stock now held' and whicli may hereafter be acquired 
by the State in the Banks of jSTew Bern and Cape Fear, 
and which have not heretofore been pledged and set apart 
for internal improvements ; the dividends arising from 
stock which is owned by the State in the Cape Fear ISTavi- 
gation Company, the Roanoke Navigation Company, and 
the Clubfoot and Harlow Creek Canal Company; the tax 
imposed by law on licenses to the retailers of spirituous 
liquors and auctioneers ; the unexpended balance of the 
Agricultural Fund ; all monies paid to the State for the 
entries of vacant lands (excej^t Cherokee lands) ; the sum 
of twenty-one thousand and ninety dollars, which was paid 
by this State to certain Cherokee Indians, for reservations 
of lands secured by them by treaty * * * • ^nd of 
all the vacant and unajipropriated swamp lands in this 
State, together with such sums of money as the Legisla- 
ture may hereafter find it convenient to appropriate from 
time to time." 

The literary fund thus set apart for education was 
placed under the control of a board consisting of the 
governor, the two speakers of the House and Senate, the 
State treasurer, and the chief justice of the supreme court, 



> P. 267. 



2 p. 277. 



» P. 279. 



EdiTOk'« Ia'TKUDUCTION. XXXV 

whose corporate title was "The President and Directors 
of the Literary Fund." This fund was wholly inadequate inadequate school 
for the purpose in view, and was known to be so at the 
time. The Raleigh Register said that this provision 
would enable some future legislature ^'to commence the 
operations of the plan."'^ The income of the fund during 
the first year after the law was enacted was stated to be 
$12,724.95; from bank stock, $2,840; from license taxes 
on liquor, $4,109,84; from licenses to auctioneers, 
$741.04; from land entries, $4,614.07; and from Cape 
Fear N^avigation Company, $420.00." A year later Gov^- 
ernor Burton" said to the Assembly that ''the last Legisla- 
ture commenced the important work, but if that beginning 
is not well sustained and pursued, the present generation 
may pass away, before anything effectual is accomplished." 
1S,C)V were there lacking others who entertained similar 
views. Several attempts were made by individual mem- 
bers of the Assembly of 182G to increase the Literary 
Fund. Henry Seawell, of Wake, introduced a resolution 
to raise $630,000 by lottery and turn it over to the sixty- 
three counties for the purpose of establishing schools ;* and 
James J. McKay, of Bladen, introduced a bill to transfer 
all the bank stock acquired by the State since 1821 to the 
school fund.'^ Both of these measures failed. The net 
result was a law to raise $50,000 by lottery and permit 
Judge Murphey to use half of it to publish a history of the 
State, the remainder to go to the literary fund.^ But this 
lottery w^as a failure, and the history was not published 
nor the school fund increased.'^ Such was the fate of every 
prop)osed measure to increase the literary fund for the 
next ten years. 

Still the friends of improving the educational condition Death of other 

. 1 rm 1 • 1 educational bills. 

01 the State were not discouraged. Ihe same legislature 
of 1826, which refused to increase the literary fund, al- 



iP. 291. 2p. 346_ 3 P. 294. * P. 298. ^ P. 341. « P. 298. 
^ P. 384. 



xxxvi Editor's Introduction. 

though the State at that time owned more than $548,000 
in bank stock alone/ only about $100,000 of which was a 
part of the school fund, was given the pleasure of entomb- 
ing several other educational measures. Robert Potter 
thought the State ought to issue $200,000 worth of bonds 
to erect and endow a "political college," one of whose ob- 
jects was to train teachers and "elevate the character of 
the State." But the legislature would not heed his ap- 
peals." Another measure, introduced by Samuel King, of 
Iredell, had for its object the appropriation of a small 
amount to aid Sunday Schools to teach poor and destitute 
children to read. But this measure also failed.^ John 
Scott, of the town of Hillsborough, wished to appoint a 
commissioner to collect statistical information, but John 
Boon, of Orange County, moved to kill the measure and 
the majority agreed with the country man against the 
borough man.^ 
The morality of The Legislature of 1826, after passing several lottery 

bills, refused to grant the lottery privilege to a number of 
academies and indulged in a hot debate over their moral- 
ity.^ The opponents of lotteries were led by Charles A. 
Hill, of Franklin, who very properly contended that they 
were merely gambling devices. The advocates of lotteries 
argued that they aided good causes, kept money at home 
which would be spent in jDatronizing foreign lotteries, if 
the domestic article were outlawed ; also that gambling 
could not be prohibited by law, that a lottery was like an 
insurance risk, and that a game of chance was not immoral. 
This discussion and its results indicated that the moral 
sense of the State was awakening. It was only five years 
later that a lottery to promote the publication of a North 
Carolina history was definitely refused on moral grounds.* 
Organization of The first Literary Board organized on January 16, 

its recoramenda- 1827, and appointed Bartlett Yancey to write its report 



1 P. 350. 2 pp 300, 308. « P. 389. * P. 343. « P. 330. « P. 529. 



Editor's Intkoductiojst. xxxvii 

to the legislature/ This report" recommended the estab- 
lishment of public schools as a moral duty, the increase of 
the literary fund, and the drainage of the swamp lands. 
In urging the increase of the literary fund, this report 
took pains to say that its recommendation of the transfer 
of the bank stock acquired since 1821 had not been made 
"without due regard to the revenue of the State, and its 
ordinary disbursements, and no doubt is entertained but 
the stock may be appropriated as recommended without 
injury to either." But when Mr. McKay's bilP to do 
this very thing was before the Senate, it could muster only 
seven votes. Evidently the anti-taxation members of the 
legislature had grave doubts about the ultimate effect of 
adopting such a recommendation. 

The ten years between 1827 and 1837 resulted in no Ten unfruitful 

'' _ . years. 

educational legislation, except those measures of doubtful 
value, prohibiting the teaching of slaves to read and to 
write and forbidding negroes to preach the Gospel. But 
measure after measure was proposed, looking to educa- 
tional progress. In 1827, a society was incorporated* to 
promote the education of deaf and dumb children. A ^^g^ftu'^on "™^ 
land grant was asked from the national government to 
endow the proposed school, but no grant was made and 
failure marked the end of the whole matter. In 1828, 
"S," through the medium of the Register, addressed the 
members of the legislature and proposed to issue bonds 
and use the interest to educate teachers at the University." 
The teachers educated under the proposed arrangement 
were to receive the small salary of $200 a year for two or 
three years, thus making tuition low and thereby "dif- 
fusing education." The legislators paid no attention to 
this scheme, but did consider somewhat the bilP of Tryam McFariand's bin 
McFarland, of Richmond, proposing a plan "for the edu- children, 
cation of the poor children of I^orth Carolina," which 
consisted in using the income of the literary fund to pay 



' P. 345. 2 p, 346. 3 p_ 342. 4 p. 371). 5 p. 490. '^ p. 422. 



xxxviii Editor's Introduction. 

the tuition of destitute children in schools already estab- 
lished. Two commissioners in each captain's district were 
to select those to be educated free. This bill met its legis- 
lative death in the Senate, December 19, 1828/ But Mr. 
McFarland believed in perseverance, so he reintroduced 
his bill again in 1829," and still again in 1830,^ only to 
meet defeat in every effort to obtain some kind of a school 
law. 
mealures"defeated "^^^ ^^^^ distance, it is almost inconceivable why some of 
the measures proposed during these ten years were not 
adopted. For instance, Mr. Thomas Hill, of Kew Han- 
over, proposed to the legislature of 1830 to find out how 
many children there were in the State who had no oppor- 
tunity to obtain an education, but that augTist body did 
not care to know.* The same year Archibald Monk, of 
Samj)son, proposed to add 1,063 shares of bank stock to the 
literary fund, but this too was defeated,^ as was also Mc- 
Farland's proposition to apply the license fees paid by 
attorneys'^ to increasing the fund. The wisest heads of 
that d[[j, men like Frederick jSTash and John M. More- 
head, reported to the x\ssembly in 1828^ and in 1827* that 
the literary fund was too small to establish schools. A 
similar rei:)ort was made by Samuel T. Sawyer in 1830.^ 
In 1833, a report by the legislative committee on educa- 
tion said that the literary fund must be increased before 
any plan of })u])lic education could be attempted. ^° In 
1836, the chairman of the committee on education re- 
ported^^ that there was nothing, in his opinion, in the con- 
dition or the character of the people of the State repug- 
nant to the successful operation of a system of common 
schools; that difficulties w^ould likely arise upon the com- 
mencement of such a plan of education, due to the sparse- 
ness of the population and to "the prejudices of the coun- 
try upon the subject" ; but this committee Avould not rec- 



1 P. 425. 2 P 44fi. •■' P. 462. ^ P. 472. " P. 470. " P. 468. 
" P. 428. ■< P. 87fi. ••• P. 4f)7. ' " P. B'^'k ' ' 740. 



Editor's Intkoduction. xxxix 

ommend that schools be established, because they ''would 
require a sum far beyond the present resources of the 
State." Evidently the dominant sentiment was content 
to let the fund set aside in 1825 slowly accumulate without 
any additions, a course of action Avhich Governor Burton 
said would certainly mean the failure to establish public 
schools during his generation. But though abundant e\i- 
dence has already been given to show the difficulty attend- 
ing the adoption of any constructive policy during this 
period, a few more evidences may throw additional light 
on the narrowly contracted, individualistic legislative 
policy which seemed to be attached to the State with hooks 
of steel. In 1830, Thomas Hill presented a fruitless me- 
morial from citizens of !N"ew Hanover, asking for the es- 
tablishment of public schools.^ In 1831, Governor Stokes 
took occasion to say that he thought the legislature would 
be too busy with the capitol building and the bank question 
to give any attention to schools." In 1827, the House of 
Commons rejected a resolution to place the Canova statue 
of Washington on rollers, so as to remove it easily from 
the capitol in case of fire. This statue was ruined by fire 
in 1831 as a consequence of that penny-wise action. The 
same year the Commons refused to undergo the expense 
of placing a clock in their own hall. And so jealous of 
vState sovereignty were they that they also, the same year, 
rejected a resolution requesting the Secretary of War to 
have a railroad surveyed from New Bern to Raleigh and 
westward.^ After the appearance of the Caldwell letters* 
in 1832, in which the sad condition of education in the 
State was so clearly pointed out and the degraded condi- 
tion of the primary teachers and their schools pictured in 
the most unsparing manner, a resolution looking to the 
establishment of a teachers' normal school was introduced 
in the Assembly.^ This was Dr. Caldwell's cherished plan 
to better educational conditions. But the bill failed bc- 

' P. 4fi4. -' P. 490. ••' P. B9S. ^ P. 545, •• P. 584. 



xl 



EuITOK's liN'TKODUCTION. 



Opposition to 

denominational 

schools. 



Plans of Kinney 
and McQueen. 



cause there was no money with which to undertake the 
work, the committee on education reporting that the liter- 
ary fund had been too much used by the State of late 
years. The annual income of the fund was now said to be 
only about $8,000. In 1833, there took place a charac- 
teristic contest in the legislature over chartering two de- 
nominational schools,^ the Greensboro Academy and Man- 
ual Labor School and the ''Literary and Manual Labor In- 
stitution in the County of Wake." The committee on 
education amended the Greensboro school bill by making 
the board of trustees self-perpetuating instead of permit- 
ting the Presbytery of Orange to fill vacancies on the 
board. The committee report on the bills contains this 
sentence which seems to explain the nature of the oppo- 
sition to them : "Your committee are aware that appre- 
hensions are entertained that if these bills be passed into 
laws a class of individuals in their corporate capacity may 
have conferred upon them privileges, if not incompatible 
with our Constitution and Bill of Rights, yet inconsistent 
with the freedom and genius of our institutions." " This 
meant that a great many of the members of that legislature 
believed these bills violated the spirit of that section of the 
constitution which forbade the establishment of one relig- 
ious society in preference to another. 

One of the most sensible of the early plans for establish- 
ing schools was that outlined by Charles R. Kinney in 
1829.^ Briefly, Mr. Kinney proposed to divide the coun- 
ties into districts and give them corporate powers and the 
right to levy a tax for a four months' school and the erec- 
tion of schoolhouses. His plan also contemplated the ex- 
amination of teachers and the JSTew England custom of 
employing female teachers during the summer months. 
Another plan* was submitted by Hugh McQueen, of Chat- 
ham, in 1834. In brief, McQueen's plan proposed trans- 
ferring the poor taxes to the support of schools, by pro- 



P. 660. 



2 P. 661. 



» P. 440. 



" P. 695. 



Editoe's Introduction. xli 

vidiiig that after the death of any pauper the tax levied 
for his support should not be discontinued but continued 
and the proceeds placed to the credit of the literary fund. 
This pauper measure failed, but it seemed to strike the 
legislature with considerable force, and it was printed in 
the laws of 1834. 

Eeference has already been made to the use of the liter- ^^^^^YttX^ 
ary fund by the State during the years 1827 to 1837. In 
his report for 1832, the public treasurer said that ''the 
use which is thus made of the cash belonging to this fund, 
excludes the possibility of carrying into effect the design 
contemplated by the act of 1825 ; and the President and 
Directors instead of investing, or otherwise disposing of it 
for improvement, as directed by that act, have been obliged 
virtually to relinquish for a time, their control over it." ^ 
During this year as high as $64,000 was borrowed by the 
State from this fund during one month. 

Another attempt to better educational conditions during i^"tR^chefs."' 
these ten years of inaction was the effort to organize a 
State teachers' association to promote the cause of educa- 
tion. In 1830, a newspaper article suggested that such 
an association be formed to promote the establishment of 
common schools." This suggestion was seconded by the 
Begister in May 1831. A meeting of teachers at Chapel 
Hill during the commencement of the same year was the 
result. This meeting adopted a constitution and organ- 
ized the ]Sr. C. Institute of Education, whose objects were 
said to be the "mutual consultation and the discussion of 
subjects connected with education and the advancement of 
knowledge." Dr. S. J. Baker, of Martin, was made presi- 
dent; W. M. McPheeters, W. M. Green, and Ered. Nash, 
vice-presidents; and W. A. ISTorwood and W. J. Bingham, 
secretaries. The executive committee was composed of 
Professors Hooper, Phillips and Mitchell. Meetings were 
held in 1832 and in 1833, when they ceased*. 



1 Pp. 541, 724. 8 P. 452. ^ p 510. 



xlii 



Editor's Intkoduction. 



rne use made of 
the surplus 
revenue. 



The work of the 
Legislature of 
1830-7. 



The year 1837 began a new era in JSTorth Carolina edu- 
cational history. The immediate cause of the change from 
the do-nothing policy long in vogne was the distribution of 
the surplus revenue by an act of Congress in 1836. The 
total amount received from the national government under 
this act was $1,433,757.39/ which amount was used as fol- 
lows: '^Ist to defray the Civil and Contingent expenses of 
the State Government, $100,000; 2nd for the redemption 
of the public debt due the U. S. in trust for the Cherokee 
Indians created for the purpose of paying the State's sub- 
scription for the stock in the Bank of the State of K. C, 
which stock constitutes a part of the fund belonging to 
the board of Literature, $300,000 ; 3rd For the payment 
of Stock in the Bank of Cape Fear subscribed for by the 
Pres. & Directors of the Literary fund, $300,000 ; 4th For 
draining the Swamp Lands of the State under the direc- 
tion of the Board of Literature, $200,000 ; 5th Invested 
in Stock of the Wilmington and Raleigh Rail Road Com- 
pany by the board of Int. Improvement, $533,757.39." 
This increase in the active capital of the banks gave imme- 
diate impetus to works of internal improvement and in- 
spired broader jilans for public education. 

When the legislature of 1836-7 met, it refused to fritter 
away the surplus revenue by distributing it among the 
counties in proportion to population and taxation," and 
adopted the plan of distribution outlined above. There 
were those in this legislature who desired to establish pub- 
lic schools at once, among the number, Alfred Dockery, of 
Richmond, who insisted on adding all the surplus revenue 
to the literary fund and the distribution of the interest to 
the counties for the education of indigent youth. ^ But the 
legislature of 1836-7 was not ready to enact a school law. 
It contented itself Avith an instruction to the literary 
board to digest a plan for common schools and submit it to 
the next Assembly,'* with tlie ])assagc of a law incorporat- 



> P. 800. 



-' A. 743. 



P. 743. 



P. 744. 



Editok's Introduction. xliii 

iiig tbe literary board and giving the governor power to 
appoint it/ and finally with the enactment of a law defi- 
nitely vesting the swamp lands in this board and appro- 
priating $200,000 for draining them. 

Early in the session of the Assembly of 1838-9, Mr. ^Sschooi'"'^ 
Dockery repeated his resolution relative to the establish- 
ment of public schools." H. Gr. Spruill presented a reso- 
lution and a plan which contemplated dividing the coun- 
ties into school districts and liolding an election in each 
district on the question of scJiool or no school. The dis- 
trict was to be empowered to levy a tax to pay one-half the 
teacher's salary, the other part to be paid out of the in- 
come of the literary fund. A notable feature of this plan 
was the suggestion that every district refusing to estab- 
lish schools should be required to vote on the question 
every year until they were established.^ The plan sub- 
mitted by the literary board recommended the division of 
the State into 1250 districts, estimating an average school 
population for each district of 108 children between the 
ages of 5 and 15 ; the establishment of normal schools after 
the fashion advocated by President Caldwell some years 
before ; the holding of an election in each county to deter- 
mine whether it was willing to levy a tax for schools to 
amount to twice the sum expected from the literary fund ; 
and the appointment of a State superintendent of com- 
mon schools.* It was estimated by the board that the in- 
come of the school fund was then about $100,000. This 
amount, added to $200,000 proposed to be raised by 
county taxation, would pay the 1250 teachers each a sal- 
ary of $240 a year.^ The suggestions of the board were 
received with considerable interest. Bills to carry out the 
plans of the board were introduced in the Senate by Wm. 
W. Cherry and in the House by Frederick J. Hill. Mr. 
Cherry's bill" did not contemplate establishing schools until 
another meeting of the Assembly ; Mr. Hill's bill' provided 

1 P. 748. 2 p (^22. » P. 823. ^ P. 826. •'• P. 835. ■• P. 866. 
' P. 873. 



xliv 



Editor's Introduction, 



The first school 
law and its pro- 
visions. 



The educational 
campaign of 1839 ; 
newspaper argu- 
ments for the 
school law. 



for their immediate establishment. Both bills did not go 
as far as the literary board recommended in the way of 
raising local funds. Mr. Hill's bill empowered the liter- 
ary Board to appoint a "State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction." 

The net result of the educational efforts of the Assem- 
bly of 1838-9 was the passage on January 7, 1839, of a 
law submitting the question of schools or no schools to a 
vote of the people of the several counties in August, 1839. 
It was also provided by this law that a favorable vote 
meant a county tax levy of one dollar for each two dollars 
to be received from the income of the literary fund. The 
schools established were to be under the control of, five to 
ten county superintendents ; the whole territory of the 
county was to be divided into no m.ore districts than one 
for each 36 square miles and the first term of the schools 
in each district was to be conducted on $20 of county taxa- 
tion and $40 income from the literary fund.^ 

As soon as this law was enacted, the friends of the estab- 
lishment of public schools ■ began an active campaign in 
their favor. In March, 1839, the Raleigh Star^ observed 
that it had no doubt of the result of the election to be held 
in August, but urged the friends of schools to spread in- 
formation about the law providing for them. It was true, 
this paper said, that the South was far behind in popular 
education, and that the proposed schools would endow the 
children with sound learning and establish them in good 
morals. The Star took some pains also to say that those 
who took advantage of the schools proposed would not be 
considered pensioners on the public bounty, because what 
was general could but justly be considered the right of all. 
The Carolina Watchman^ made the point that the taxes 
then levied were nearly all spent on courts and that the 
additional school tax proposed would all be spent at home 
and could not, therefore, be a burden, nor make the people 



P. 886. 



« P. 893. 



3 P. 895. 



Editor's Introduction. , xlv 

poorer. In addition, tlie Watchman declared that educa- 
tion would lessen crime, and said it was simj)ly not true 
that plain farmers and mechanics needed no education, as 
was so often contended. The veteran Register-^ argued 
that education was necessary to the honor and welfare of 
the State ; that public schools would make demagogues 
scarcer ; that general education would bring prosperity ; 
and, finally, that a tax for schools was only "a draft of 
children and of innocence on the overflowing treasury of a 
Parent's heart." The Butherfordton Gazette- said that 
the ignorance of the masses was a great evil, that the pros- 
perity of the State was at stake, and that Xorth Carolina 
had been lukewarm too long on the subject of popular edu- 
cation. The Newhern Spectator^ said that it was the pa- 
triotic duty of all to support the establishment of schools 
and deprecated making the adoption of the law a political 
question, as was then being done in Craven County, though, 
if the Whigs had been in power, it said, a school system 
would have been put in operation years before. 

In advertising the election of 1839, the sheriff of Stokes The campaign in 

4 . 1-1 stokes. 

County took occasion to advocate the adoption of the 
school law. He answered the opponents of schools who 
were circulating the specious argument that the tax would 
be one imposed on the poor for the benefit of the rich. 
In the most caustic manner he paid his respects to some 
Stokes Democrats who were opposing the law, and in- 
sisted that there could be nothing improper in permitting 
the people to decide whether they would have public schools 
or not. 

The Davidson County members of the Assembly^ of Thp campaign in 
1838-9 issued an address to the people. They maintained 
that public schools would work a moral, mental and phy- 
sical revolution in ISTorth Carolina. This address recited 
the objections raised to the adoption of the law and an- 
swered them in detail. The principal objection to the law 



^ P. 897. 2 p_ 898. * P. 899. * P. 900. P. =902. 



xlvi 



Editor's Introduction. 



Objections of 
"Rusticus." 



The result of the 
election. 



A word in conclu- 
sion. 



ill Davidson, as it was everywhere else, was tlie fact that 
a vote for schools meant a vote to increase taxes. The 
answer to this objection by the Davidson legislators wa? 
dignified and statesmanlike. They maintained that taxa- 
tion was a mark of all well-regiilated governments, that the 
small increase in taxes w^as to be held as of little moment in 
comparison to the immense good to be derived by the com- 
munity in increased moral well-being. They also answered 
such selfish and frivolous objections as these : "It is 
wrong to tax the rich to educate the poor; it is wrong to 
tax one man who has no children to educate another man's 
children." 

''Rusticus" in the Register of August 3, 1839, stated the 
objections urged against the adoption of the school law by 
its more thoughtful opponents. He objected to the inade- 
quate salary allow-ed teachers, the shortness of the school 
term proposed, the large districts, and the lack of compe- 
tent teachers. These, "Rusticus" thought, w^ere four fatal 
objections to the plan submitted for the approval of the 
people, and he urged its rejection and the submission of a 
more practicable measure. Especially did "Rusticus" 
urge the establishment of a school to educate teachers.^ 

The Baleigh Register did not give complete returns of 
the school election." But, from those given, it seems the 
law failed in Rowan, Lincoln, Yancey, and Davidson, in 
the West; and in Edgecombe, Wayne, and Columbus, in 
the East. The great majority of the counties adopted 
the plan, and thus approved the principle of establishing 
schools by a combination of county taxation and State aid 
derived from the permanent school fund established in 
1825. 

Thus the long agitation was ended. In some form or 
other ISTorth Carolina has maintained public schools during 
all the time since 1840, except a few years immediately 
following the Civil War. The names of the men who took 
part in convincing the State that it ought to establish 



1 P. 907. 



2 P. 910. 



Editor's Introduction. xlvii 

schools appear in these documents in their trne light. Some 
cf them, judging by present-day standards, were wise an:l 
some not so Avise ; bnt all of them must have been men of 
more th:.m ordinary force of character and persistency of 
purpose to continue the agitation against hostile public 
opinion und finally win a victory, even though it was a 
victory v.'cn for the most righteous cause ever battled for 
in ai!V period of our history. While the school law of 
1839 was not a very satisfactory measure, it marked the 
beginning of a new era. Individualism was now gradually 
to give way to community s]_3irit ; selfishness and intoler- 
ance which only desired to be undisturbed must now needs 
give place to measures devoted to the welfare and uplift 
of all the people; hatred of taxation for schools must now 
begin to disappear before the dawning of that wiser policy 
that no taxation is oppressive which is used for giving 
equal ( ducational opportunities to all. 

Charles L. Coon'. 
Wilson, JSTorth Carolina, 
December 14, 1908. 



1744 

1. FREE SCHOOL IN BEAUFORT: JAMES WINWRIGHT'S WILL 



1. FREE SCHOOL IN BEAUFOET: JAMES WINWEIGHT'S 

WILL. 

ichooi'.'^ '^*"*'*^ ^°'' I "^v^ll ^^^cl appoint that the yearly Kents and profits of 
all The Town land and Houses in Beaufort Town Belong- 
ing unto me with the other Land adjoining thereto (which 
I purchased of John Pindar) after the Decease of my wife 
Ann to be Apply ed to the Uses hereinafter Mentioned for 
Ever (to Wit) for The encouragement of a Sober discreet 

Kind ot teachers Quallifved Man to tcach a School at Least Reading Writ- 

and course of '' '-^ 

memof'fund^*^' ^^S Vulgar and Decimal Arithmetick in the aforsd. Town 
of Beaufort, wch said Man Shall be Chosen and appointed 
by the Chair Man (or the Next in Commission) of Car- 
teret County Court and one of Church Wardens of St. 
John parish in the aforesd. County and Their Successors 
for Ever, also I Give and Bequeath the Summ of Fifty 
pounds Sterling (provided that my estate Shall be Worth 
so much after my Just Debts and other Legacys are paid 

Master's house and and Discharged) to be apply ed for the Building and 

school house o / i x ^ o _ 

provided for. finishing of a Creditable House for a School and Dwelling 
house for the said Master to be Erected and Built on Some 
part of my Land jSTear the White house Which I bought of 
the aforesaid Pindar, and my True Intent and Meaning is 
that all the yearly profits and advantag'es arising by the 
aforesd. Town Letts and Lands thereunto adjoining as 
aforesd. with the Use of the sd. Land for Making and Im- 
proving a plantation for the planting and Raising of Corn, 
etc. (if the aforesd. Master or teacher of sd. School Shall 

Land for the use of think proper to plant and Improve the same) be entirely 
for the use and Benefitt of ye sd. Master and his Successors 
During his and their Good Behaviour, — Also that the sd. 
Master Shall not be obliged to teach or take under his 
Care any Schoolar or Schoolars Imposed on him by the 

Master to decide Trustees herein Mentioned or their Successors or by any 

taught free. other pcrsou, But shall have free Liberty to teach and take 

2 



, Winwrigiit's Will, 174:4., 

under his care Such and so many Schoolars as he shall 
think Convenient and to Receive his Reward for the Teach- 
ing of them as he and the persons tendering them shall 
agree. 

Aug. 13, 1744:. 

Probated March Court 1744/5.' 



^. Tames VVinwright lived in Carteret County. 



1759 

1. FREE SCHOOL IN NEW HANOVER: JAMES INNES' WILU 



'By "an act for the promotion of learning in the district of Wihiiington," the 
Legislature of 1783 vested in the trustees of Innis Academy the property left by the 
will of James Innes. See State Records, Vol. xxiv, 511, 984 ; Vol. xxv, 18-20. 

4 



1. FREE SCHOOL IN NEW HANOVER: JAMES INNES' WILL. 

In the uame of God amen. 

I James Imies of Cape Fear in i!s^orth Carolina in who innes was. 
America. Coll of the Eegement of sd Province Raised 
for His Majestjs imediate Service and Comniaiider in 
Chief of this Expedition to the Ohio againest the French 
and there Indeans whoe have most imjnstlj Invaided and 
fortihed themselves on His ]\rajestys Lands. 

Being now readdey to enter upon action and of Sound 
minde, memory, and understanding. Do make this mv 
Last Will and Testment in manner and forme following 
viz. : I recomend mj Soul to the Almighty God that gave 
it, relying on the Merits of Jesus Christ for Mercy att the 
last da\. My Bodie I most freely offer to be disposed off 
as God in His wdse providence shall pleas to direct. 

I recommend the iDayine,' of all mv Just and Lawful! Bequests to be sent 

i^ -^ >=> " _ .to Edinburgh. 

debts instantly, or when demanded. I direct a remit- 
tance may be made to Edinburgh Sufficient to pay for a 
Church Bell for the Parish Church of Cannesby, in Cath- 
ness, agreeable to my Letter to Mr. Jams. Broadee Minis- 
ter theieof. 

I also appoint and Direct that there may be a furder 
remittance made of One Hundred Pounds Sterll. for the 
Use of the Poor of the said Parish of Cannesby. And the 
Said Summ of One LIundred Pounds to be put to Interest 
for the use of the Poor of Said Parish, as formerly directed 
bv me. 



Property given for 
a free school 
emimerateci. 



Management of 
the bequest. 



James Innes' Will, 1759. 

I also give and bequeth att the Death of my Loving Wife 
Jean Innes my Plantation called Point Pleasant and the 
Opposite mash Land over the River for which ther is a 
Seperate Patent, Two Negero young Woomen One Negero 
young Man and there Increase, All the Stock of Cattle 
and Hogs, halfe the Stock of Horses belonging att the 
time to that Plantation With all my Books, and One Hun- 
dred Pounds Sterling or the Equivalent thereunto in the 
currency of the Country For the Use of a Free School for 
the benefite of the Youth of ^NTorth Carolina. And to see 
that this part of my Will be dewly Executed att the time, 
I appoint the Colonell of the ISTew Hanover Regement, the 
Parson of Wilmington Church and the Vestrey for the 
time being, or the Majority of them as they shall from 
time to time be choised or appointed. The Residue of my 
Estate boeth reall and personall I leave to the sole dis- 
poseall of my Loving Wife and Companion of my Life 
Jean Innes whome I appoint to be Sole Executrix of this 
my last will and Testament, which I desire may be record- 
ed in the Publique Register. In testimoney hereof I have 
put my hand and Seall this fifth day of July and in the 
year of Our Lord God One Thousand Seven hundred Fifty 



Done att Winchester in Virginia in Presence 



Will made at Win- and Four 

Chester, Virginia, nnn i itii 

in 1754. of US. Signed, Sealled, and published 



James Innes 



John Carlyle 
W. Cocks 
Caleb Geaingek. 



„ , , The foregoins; last Will and Testament of James Innes 

Probate of the will. ^ ^'^ 

Esquire was duely proved before me by the oath of Caleb 
Grainger who made oath on the holy Evangelists that he 
saw and heard the said James Innes sign seal and publish 
the foregoing as and for his last Will and Testament in 
the presence of the said Caleb Grainger John Carlyle and 
William Cocks who subscribed their respective names as 



James Innes' Will, 1759. 

Evidences thereto in presence of the Testator, who was at 
the same time of sonnd and disposing memory and under- 
standing. 

Let Letters Testamentary issue hereof to Jean Innes 
Executrix in the foregoing Will named. 

Brunswick 0th Octo. 1759. 

Arthur Dobbs. 



1791 

1. CIVIL LIST FOR 1791 



1. CIVIL LIST OF 179L 

The following- statement eliows the different items of 
expense of the government of the State for 1791: — 

Governor's salary £ 800 

Treasurer's salary 750 

Comptroller's salary 500 

Secretary of State salary 100 

Council, their Clerk and Doorkeeper. . . 100 

Clerk to the Treasury 200 

Members of Assembly, Clerks and Door- 
keepers 12,000 

Judges of Superior Courts 3,200 

Attorney General and Solicitor, 320 1. 

each 640 

Agents for settling with the U. S. . . . 1,600 

Public Printer 500 

Incidental expenses of government of 

everv kind the committee estimate at 250 



£ 20,740 



— Estimate of Assembly Committee of Firmnce, Laius 
1790, p. 28. 



1795 

1. REV. JOHN ALEXANDER'S WILL 



10 



1. BEV. JOHN ALEXANDER S AVILL. 

Da Prascepta, Familise Tiise, nam Tu crive moritiu-us es. 

Forasmuch as the last scene of life seems hastening on, make*^! wi?" 
and the curtain ready to fall ; I think it prudent, before I 
make my final exit oil the stage, whereon I have sometime 
acted, to dispose of the few trifles fortune has bestowed me, 
manner following to wit: 

Imprimis — I give and bequeath to my twO' Daughters, Property willed to 

1 -n ^ 1 11 1 !• * his daughters. 

Martha and Kachel, all and every part of my property 
vvliate\ <?r, to be equally divided between them, and to their 
lawful heirs forever. On the demise of either, before em- 
powered to make a will, the surviving sister inherits the 
whole. 

Should both decease, before the laws capacitate to will, if daughters should 

' i ' die, then proiierty 

then, my remaining property is to be wholly converted to J.ate'^fi'ior'Va'i'iidren. 
educating the poor children within the counties of Hert- 
ford and Bertie ; under such regulations as my executoro 
shall think fit. My body I bequeath to the earth, whence ^^,^^^81 directions, 
it originated. My Soul, Immortal, and unallyed to dust, 
I commend to the Father of Mercies. The manly, mascu- 
line voice of orthodoxy, is no longer heard in our land. 
Far, therefore, from my grave be the senseless Eant of 
whining Fanaticism; her hated and successful rival. 
Cant and Grimace Dishonour the dead, as well as Disgrace 
the living. Let the monitor within, who never Deceives, 
alone pronounce my Funeral Oration ; while some friendly 
hand Deposites my poor remains close by the ashes of my 
beloved Daughter Elizabeth, wuth whom I trust to share 
a happy Eternity. 

And of this my last will and Testament I Constitute 
and appoint Captn. George West, George Outlaw, Esqr. 
and Mr. Edward Outlaw, my Executors — on whose Pro- 
bity, Honor, and Disintered Friendship I entirely rely for 
the faithful Discharge of the trust I repose in them — Be- 
ll 



12 JoHx Alexa adder's Will^ 1795. 

seeching them, as they would approve themselves to him 
who is the Father of the Fatherless, to use all possible 
t^^begfvenhi^*'"" meaus of Inspiring my children with a love of virtue, and 
an abhorrence of vice — Restraining them from all places 
and persons Dangerous to their virtue or Innocency — Giv- 
ing them an Education to their rank in life suitable and 
becoming — Let their books, and their needles be their 
Wishes he could principal companions and employ, I could wash the laws 
enabled me to do more for my wretched and unfortunate 
slaves than that of recommending them to lenity and mild 
treatment. 

Be to their faults a little blind — 
Be to their virtues ever kind. 

John Alexander.^ 
Bertie, Apl. 4 1795. 



^The above will was probated at August term of Bertie County 
Court. 1799. 



1798 



1. WARRENTON ACADEMY ASKS STATE AID. 

2. DAVID CALDWELL ASKS FOR EXEMPTION OF HIS STUDENTS 

FROM MILITARY DUTY. 



13 



1. WARRENTO^ ACADEMY ASKS STATE AID. 

The Memorial aud Petitiou of the Trustees of the War- 
renton Academy, respectfully, 
K^x^mioa. SHEWETH,— That iu the year 1786 an Act passed in 

the General Assembly of this State, directing an Academy 
to be erected and established for the Education of Youth, 
under the jSTame, Stile and Title of "The Warrenton 
Academy" : — At the same Time Trustees were nominated 
and appointed thereto, and incorporated after the usual 
Form and with Similar Powers that other Bodies politick 
and corporate are by Law vested and established: And 
in Order more efl'ectually to further this Salutary Meas- 
ure, the aforesaid General Assembly authorized and em- 
powered the Trustees of the said Academy to raise by Way 
of Lottery the Sum of One Thousand Pounds Currency. 
to assist in defraying the expense of Buildings and other 
Contingences. Your Memorialists beg leave to represent, 
that altho' much Pains were taken to carry the said Lot- 
Lottery authorized ^^j-y luto efl'ect, vct thev provcd abortive, as the Number 

in 1/86 proved ■- ' '^ ^ ^ V 

abortive. ^^£ Xiekets contained therein could not be disposed of within 

the limited time ; of Course no i^ubliek aid has been virtu- 
ally given to this laudable Institution ; which Independant 
of so great a disappointment, has through the means of 

Individual dona- private douatioiis aiid individual exertions flourished with 

tions supported . 

school for ten great Kepui;atioii upwards of ien Years, xour Memo- 
years ; i)repares ° '- 

students for the rialists mean not to raise any Competition with similar 

University. ■ "J ^ 

Listitutions. They know their value, and how justly they 
deserve encouragement: — Yet the}^ venture to affirm none 
has been more eminently useful, nor is any one better cal- 
culated to promote the desirable purpose of preparing 
Youth for our State Seminary: — A circumstance they 
humbly conceive that cannot fail of attracting Attention, 
and induciag .Consent to their present prayer. 
Buildings much The Buildiiio- of the Acad em V is in so decaved a state 

decayed ; appara- "" , , ' 

tus. 14 



Waerenton Academy Asks Aid, 1798. 15 

that it cannot be repaired to be made lit and suitable for 
the reception of the K umber of Students who wish to re- 
sort there. Your Memorialists with great deference fur- 
ther represent, that the Institution is already furnished 
with a great variety of Mathematical and Philosophical 
apparatus, all of which were obtained through the repeated 
exertions of liberal Individuals, and some small private 
donations. Those resources are now exhausted, and tho 
Institution needs publick patronage. To whom then can 
they so properly apply, as to the Representatives of a Free am from state 
People, who know the value and beneficial Consequences 
resulting from an early Education ? They are the more 
emboldened to do so, from a Hope and Belief that the 
Present General Assembly being animated with a Zeal to 
cherish every useful Institution any former one thought 
proper to establish, will, after this Representation made to 
them of the existing State of the Warrenton Academv. 
direct such Aid from the Treasury as in their Wisdom 
they deem meet. 

And your petitioners will pray, etc. 

J. G. Breiion^ Chairman. 

In House of Commons 4 December 1798 read and re- j^l^oriaj.*'^^ °" 
ferrcd to the Committee on Finance. 

The Committee on Finance to whom was referred the ^id refused. 
Memorial of the Trustees of the Warrenton Academy, re- 
questing a Donation from the General Assembly to enable 
to erect buildings &c. 

REPORT, 

That the State of our finances will not authorize grant- 
ing the said Donation ; They, therefore, recommend that 
the Trustees aforesaid, have leave to witlidraw their Me- 
morial. 

— From Unpublished Legislntire Documents, 1798. 



Course of study in 
his school. 



Exemption asked. 



2. DAYID CALDWELL ASKS FOIl EXEMPTION OF HIS 
STUDENTS FROM MILITARY DUTY. 

To the Honourable the General Assembly, 

The Petition of your Petitioner, humbly sheweth, 

That your petitioner hath attended a small seminary in 
Guilford, in which was taught the latin and greeck lan- 
guages, and also the sciences. He flatters himself, that he 
met with the approbation of those who trusted their youth 
to his care. 

He petitions your honorable Body that the students un- 
der his care may not be forced from their Studies by any 
law of the State, except in case of aii invasion. Your 
compliance will oblige a number of Gentlemen, at some 
distance and your petitioner, as in Duty bound shall ever 
pray. D. Caldwell. 

Nov. 16 1798. 

— Unpuhlishcd Legislative Documents, 1798. 



The Committee to ^^-hom were referred the revision of 
the Militia laws, 

REPORT, 

Committee recom- That tlicv have taken into their consideration the bill 

mend granting tlie . " . . . i> i • 

exemption asked, granting certain privileges to the seminary of learning 
in the Count}' of Guilford. That they recommend to your 
Honourable Body to pass the said Bill into a law aftei* 
substituting the amendment marked A herewith submitted 
after the caption of said Bill. 

RoBEKT Iewi^", Chm. 



In Senate Dec. 2, 1798, read and concurred with. 

Benj. Smith, Spk. 
— Legislative Documents, 1798. 

16 



Exemptio:n^ fok Caldwell's Students, 1793. 17 

An Act gTanting certain iDrivileges to the Seminary of 
learning in the county of Guilford. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of t'^^ law making 

•^ >! the exumptiiin. 

ISTorth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That from and after the passing of this act, 
the students who now are or hereafter may be in the semi- 
nary of learning in the county of Guilford, under the 
direction of the Rev. David Caldwell, shall enjoy and 
exercise all the privileges and immunities that students in 
any chartered seminary in this state have by their char- 
ters heretofore granted, a right to possess and enjoy ; any- 
thing to the contrary notwithstanding. 

—Laws 17 98, chap, XCY. 



1800 

1. CENSUS OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES. 

2. EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS. 



18 



1. CENSUS OF >OKTH CAROLINA COUNTIES. 

Moryaii Dist. White. Other Free. Slaves. Totah 

Burke [^,W4 52 S-H) 9,92!) 

Buncombe 5,405 o-i 347 5,812 

Lineohi 11,1:37 18 1,523 12,668 

Kutherford 9,GS1 13 1,072 10,753 

Wilkes 0,457 64 790 7,247 

Ashe 2,698 55 85 2.783 



Hillsborough Dist. 

Orange 

Bandolph 

Wake 

Caswell 

Person 

Granville 

Chatham 



44,305 236 4,643 49,184 

Salishari/ Dist. 

Rowan 17,221 35 2,839 20,060 

Guilford 8,537 40 905 9,442 

Rockingham 6,644 116 1,633 8,277 

Surrv 8,500 21 1,005 9,505 

Stokes 9,587 63 1,439 11,026 

Iredell 7,348 17 1,508 8,856 

Cabarrus 4,395 _ 2 699 5,094 

Montgomtiry .... 6,304 20 1,373 7,677 

Mecklenburg 8,451 15 1,988 10,439 



76,987 329 13,389 90,376 



12,797 


116 


3,565 


16,362 


8,327 


202 


90^7 


9,234 


9,196 


324 


4,241 


13,437 


5,913 


26 


2,788 


8,701 


4,320 


123 


2,082 


6,402 


7,909 


329 


6,106 


14,015 


9,052 


102 


1,809 


11,861 


56,583 


1,222 


22,498 


80,303 


19 









20 



Ceivsus of Xokth Cakolixa. 

Halifax Dist. White. Other Free. Slaves. 

Halifax 6,70(> 635 7,239 

IS^ash 4,379 143 2,596 

Warren 5,272 136 6,012 

Franldin 1,831 3,698 

Edgecombe 6,516 106 3,905 

^Northampton 6,111 539 6,209 

Martin 3,810 183 1,786 

37,691 1,712 31,115 
Edenton Dist. 

Chowan 2,659 67 2,173 

Perquimans 3,688 61 2,020 

Pasquotant 3,624 234 1,755 

Camden 3,021 26 1,170 

Currituck 5,308 114 1,530 

Gates 3,193 82 2,688 

Hertford 3,837 415 2,864 

Bertie 5,737 203 5,512 

Washington 1,661 63 761 

Tyrrell 2,536 13 859 

36,351 1,298 20,632 
Newhern Dist. 

Craven 

Jones 

Carteret 

Hvde 

Beaufort 

Pitt 

Greene 

Lenoir 

Wayne 

Johnston 



Total. 
13,945 

6,975 
11,285 

8,529 
10,421 
12,353 

5,629 

69,136 

5,132 
5,708 
5,379 
4,191 
6.928 
5,881 
6,701 
11.249 
2,422 
3.395 

56.986 



6,084 


328 


4,161 


10,245 


2.390 


64 


2,949 


4.339 


4,481 


108 


918 


5,399 


3,125 


46 


1,404 


4,829 


4.198 


190 


2,044 


6.242 


6,199 


32 


2,885 


9,084 


2.722 


27 


1,496 


4,218 


2,479 


55 


1,526 


4,005 


4.784 


84 


1,988 


6,772 


4,538 


34 


1,763 


6,301 



40.300 



968 20.134 60.434 



Census of North Carolina. 

Wilmington Dist. Wliitc. Other Free. Slaves. 

Isew Hanover . . . 8,002 S)\ 4,058 

Brunswick 2,496 163 1,614 

Bladen 4,729 153 2,299 

Dnplin 4,932 55 1,864 

Onslow 3,809 1,814 



21 



FayetieviUr Ihst 
Cnmbci'land 
Moore 

KicluHOlKl . 

Anson .... 
iLobeson . . . 
Sampson . . 



18,968 



Total. 

7,000 
4,110 
7,028 
6,796 
5,613 



464 11,649 30.167 



6,541 


119 


2,723 


9,264 


4,159 


31 


608 


4,767 


4,748 


25 


875 


5,623 


6,856 


131 


1,290 


8,146 


5,841 


341 


998 


6,839 


5,007 


137 


1,712 


6.719 



33,152 784 8,206 41.358 

-F)0)n Bdlcigli Rpflister, Nov. 15, 1802. 



Course of stud v. 



2. EDUCATIONAL tONDITIOXS. 

ffloishi'lygf''''^ Before this University went into operatiou, in 1794, 
there were not more than three schools in the State, in 
wliich the rudiments of a ehi&sieal education could be ac- 
quired. The most prominent and useful of these schools 
was kept by Dr. David Caldwell, of Guilford County. 
He instituted it shortly after the close of the war, and 
continued it for more than thirty years. The usefulness 

Praise for caid- Q,f i)y Oaldwell to the literature of JSTorth Carolina will 

wells school. 

never be sufficiently appreciated: but the opportunities of 
instruction in his school were very limited. There was 
no library attached to it ; his students were suf)plied with a 
fcAv of the Greek and Latin Classics, Euclid's Elements of 
Mathematics, and Martin's Natural Philosophy. Moral 
Philosophy was taught from a syllabus of lectures deliver- 
ed by Dr. Witherspoon in Princeton College. The stu- 
dents had no books on history or miscellaneous literature. 

history aiKimerii-'^ There were indeed very few in the State, except in the 
libraries of lawyers who lived in the commercial towns. 
I well remember, that after completing my course of 
studies under Dr. Caldwell, I spent nearly two years with- 
out finding any books to read except some old Avorks on 

Books which gave Theoloffical subiects. At length I accidentally met with 

Murphev a taste {? J o 

forreading. Voltaire's histoiw of Charles the twelfth of Sweden, an 

odd volume of Smollett's Roderic Random, and an abridg- 
ment of Don Quixote. These books gave me a taste for 
reading, which I had no opportunity of gratifying until I 
became a student in this university in 1796. Few of Dr. 
Caldwell's students had better opportunities of getting 
books than myself; and wn"th these slender opportunities 
of instruction, it is not surprising that so few became emi- 
nent in the liberal professions. At this day, when libraries 
are estal)lished in all our towns, when every professional 
man, and every respectable gentleman, has a collection of 

22 



EDUCATIOISrAL CONDITIONS, 1800. 23 

books, it is difficult to conceive the inconveniences under 
which young men labored thirty or forty years ago. 

From an "Oration delivered in Person Hall, on 
Wednesday the 2Tth June, 1827 — under the appointment 
of the Dialetic Society — by the Hon. Archibald I). Mur- 
phey, and published by order of said Society." 

—Balcigh Register, July 2Jf, 1827. 



180I 

1. RALEIGH ASKS STATE AID TO ESTABLISH ACADEMY. 

2. NEW BERN ACADEMY ASKS STATE AID. 



24 



1. RALEIGH ASKS STATE AID TO ESTABLISH ACADEMY. 

To the Honorable tlie General Assembly of the State of 
Xoi'th Carolina: 

The petition of the nndersigned Inhabitants of the City 
of Raleigh, and its Vicinity, 

SHEWETH, That yonr Petitioners, fully impressed ifJe1g"h.'' '''''"''' "' 
with the importance of affording the Means of Education 
to the Risina' Generation and lamenting the want of an 
Academy at the Seat of Government of this State ( a Place 
in their opinion particularly adapted for such an Institu- 
tion) in which Youth of both Sexes, might be taught, at 
least, the most useful branches of Learning, instead of 
sending them to a Distance to be educated, as at present 
Parents and Guardians are under the Necessity of doing : 
And your Petitioners being also in need of a commodious 
room or Rooms in which to hold meetings of a puldic 
nature, on various occasions, they pray your honourable 
Body that you will be pleased to favor the Undertaking 
they have in view of establishing such a Seminary, and 
of erecting such Public Buildings, by granting unto them. Ask for a lot. 
as a Scite for this purpose, one of the public Squares of 
the said City ; and if your Petitioners might be permit- 
ted to designate that which appears to them most conve- 
nient for the Occasion, they would name Burke Square, 
situate in the Xorth Eastern Part of the City, as the 
most eligible. 

Should your Honourable Body be pleased to grant the 
Prayer of your Petitioners, it is their Intention to have 
made immediately a Plan and estimate of the contemplated 
Buildings, and to open a subscription, in order to raise 
the necessary funds for the erection of the same, which they 

25 



26 



Ealeigh Academy Asks State Aid, 1801. 



Signers to the 
petition. 



The act making 
donation. 



Trustees. 



have no doubt will be cheerfully entered into by the 
inhabitants of the City and Neighborhood generally. 
And your Petitioners will ever pray. 

Ealeigh, :Vov. 1801. 



II. Potter. 
B. Williams. 
Will. Polk. 
Will. White. 
Wm. Armstrong. 
Robert Fleming. 
Soutiiy Bond. 
John Robateau. 
John Powers. 
M. Dillard. 
Willie Jones. 
Lewis Greene. 
J. Marshall. 
James Mears. 
G. Guthrie. 
S. Haywood. 
John Ingles. 
W:m. Glendening. 
S. Wheaton. 
Wm. Peace. 



R. Phipps. 
Joshua Suggs Sen. 
J. Peace. 
WiLL.M. Shaw. 
William Boylan. 
H. H. Cooke. 
•John Hogg. 
Theol. Hunter. 
Jo. Gales. 
R. Davison. 

C. Massenburg. 
R. Williams. 
Charles Paruish. 

D. McKeithen. 
John Porter. 
Wm. H. Haywood. 
D. Caswell. 

H. W. AULD. 

Wm. Hill. 
John Haywood. 



— Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1801. 

An Act to estal)lisli an Academy iu the city of Raleigh. 

Whereas the establishing puldic Seminaries of learning 
for the purpose of educating Youth, is essential to the 
happiness and prosperity of the community, and therefore 
highly worthy of legislative attention: 

I. That John Craven, William White, Sherwood Hay- 
wood, Theo])hilus Hunter, John Ingles, Nathaniel Jones 
(White Plains), Matthew McCullers, William Hunter, 



Ealeigh Academy Asks State Aid, ISOl. 27 

Simon Turner, Samuel lligli, Joseph Gales, John Mar- 
slnill, William Eoylan, and Henry Seawell, Esquires, shall 
be and they are hereby declared to be a body politic and 
corporate, to be known and distinguished by the name of 
''The Trustees of Ealeidi Academy." 



y. That the public square of land lying- and situate The lot. 
in the city of Raleigh, and distinguished in the plan of said 
city by the name of "Burk Square," be and the same is 
hereby granted to the Trustees of the said Academy, and 
their successors, for the express purpose of erecting their 
Academy and other Iniildings thereon, and shall have abso- 
lute right and property therein, to all intents and pur- 
poses, as fully and anqily as bodies politic and corporate 
can and may have. Provided nevertheless, that they shall 
have no power or authority to sell, or in any manner 
dispose of the said public square. 

— Lairs of North Carollnn. ISOl. 



28 



2. NEW BERN ACADEMY ASKS STATE AID. 

To the Honorable the General Assembly of the State of 
North Carolina The Petition of the Trustees of New 
Bern Academy, Hnmbly Sheweth, 

School house That vour petitioners had the misfortune to have the 

burned some years . • i i n 

ago. School-house belonging to the said academy burnt down 

some years ago and not having sufficient funds to rebuild 
the same, were at a loss for some jilace as a School House, 
and when the Palace Lots were sold your Petitioners pur- 
chased a part of a lot in the said square which the part of 
the kitchen stood for the purpose of making a temporary 
school house until they should have it in their power to 
build a new Academy, for which they gave two hundred 
and twenty-five pounds, and entered into two bonds for 
the same, one for 75 pounds payable in one Year and an- 

Donation asked of Other for 150 pounds payable in two years. Your peti- 
poun s. tioners took up and paid the first Bond when it became 

due, the other still remains in the hands of the Comptroller 
unpaid. Your Petitioners further state that their funds 
are not more than is necessary to employ proper teachers 
in the said Academy, and if they are obliged to pay up the 
said bond it would prove very injurious to the institution, 
which has proved extremely beneficial and advantageous 
to the town and country around by affording the means of 
education to a Number of Children, and the sum, (it being 
only one hundred and fifty pounds) is no object to the 
Public. Your Petitioners therefore pray that your Hon- 
orable Bodv will take the same into your serious consid- 
eration and direct the Treasurer to cancell their second 
bond remaining unpaid as aforesaid, and your Petitioners 
as in Duty bound will ever pray. 

For and in behalf of the Trustees of Newbern Academy. 

George Ellis, Treasurer. 

— Lrqislativc Documents, ISOl. 

28 



jSTew Bekn iicADEMY AsKS State Aid, 1801. 29 

The Committee of propo. and Grievances Xo. 1. to 
\\'lioni was referred the petition of the Board of Trnstees 
of ]^ewbern Academy 

REPORT, 

That in the opinion of your Counnittee it would be im- 
proper to grant their prayers, tlierefore, recommend tiie 
same be rejected. 

►Submitted, John Moore, Chm. 

In the House of Commons, 11 Dec. IbOl. 
Resolved, that the House do concur with this report. 
In Senate 11 Dec. lyOl, the foregoing report was read 
and concurred with. 

Whereas it appears to this General Assembly that the i^epdrtofcomimt- 

-'-■'- '' tec ivcoinnicnus 

Trustees of the Xewbern Academy became purchasers of I'J^f^.e mTtiu^bond 
a certain lot of land, being part of the palace scpiare m ^'^ ^™*tees. 
the town of Newbern, for the purpose of a temporary 
Academy, which sold for the smn of £225, — one-third 
of which sum has been paid by the Trustees, into the 
Treasury of the State at the time it became due, and the 
other two-thirds, to wit £150 — being still due and owing 
by the said Trustees, who are desirous of building an 
Academy in order to promote to the uttermost of their 
power, the benefits that ought to be derived from that 
Institution by the rising generation; and their funds not 
being adequate to the object contemplated, and to make 
immediate payments of the said Bond, and that a suspen- 
sion of the demand of the public for the amount of the 
said Ijond would the better enable them to proceed in this 
undertaking — 

Resolved, that the Treasurer be directed not to bring 
suit against them until three years shall have exjiired from 
this date and that they shall have the use of the said simi 
of £150 free from Interest for the aforesaid term of time. 

Clerk's entry: Rejected. Rujuctcd. 

— Legislative Documents^ ISOl. 



180-^ 

1. GOV. WILLIAMS' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. JOSEPH GRAHAM'S PLAN FOR MILITARY ACADEMY. 



30 



1. GOV. AVILLIAMS' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

I recommend that you take into consideration the iiii- ^!^,^ofiearni*n-" 
portance of facilitating our inland navigation, and the n.lv,nnu"u.u-<i. 
still greater importance of jji'oviding, through adequate 
and suitable means, for a general diffusion of learning 
and science throughout the State. Through the accom- 
plishment of the first, we shall add to the respectability 
and increase the wealth of the State, as well as do away, 
in a great degree, witli that unpleasant and unseemly state 
of things wdiich renders us, at present, necessarily depend- 
ent on our sister states for markets and for merchandise. 
And in consequence of the attainment of the other, a far 
more estimable end, inde[)endent of other important and 
interesting considerations, we may reasonably indulge the 
fond and flattering hope, that our posterity will be enabled 
at all times, and on all occasions, duly to appreciate and ^^ 

' ■> „' 1 i Education will en- 

iH'operly understand and defend, their natural civil and a//|'i.,'l!i',',t\''t'heir'^" 
political rights : In fine, that with enlightened minds, rlghti'"'^ ^"^'''"'^ 
and the consequent love of freedom, they will never cease 
to be free. 

— From the House JournaJ, 1S02. 



'This is the first mention of education in Governor's message after 
1776. 



31 



32 



2. JOSEPH GKAHA3rS PLA> FOK 3IILITARY ACADEMY. 



Plan laid before 
the House. 



Action of the Sen- 
ate ; comuiitteef< 
appointed. 



Plan ]:>rinted : 
thanks. 



Thursday, Xov. IS, 1802. The Speaker hiid before 
the house the address of Joseph Graham, with the phin of 
a Military Academy, submitted to the eousideratiou of 
the Legislature. 

— Rouse Journal, ISO J, p. (J. 

Friday, Xov. 19, 1802. Eeceived from the House of 
Commons the following message : 

Mr. Speaker: — The address of Joseph Graham herrwitli 
sent, on the subject of a military academy, we propose 
shall be submitted to a joint committee ; and have appoint- 
ed on our part, Mr. Moore, Mr. Calvin Jones, Mr. Strnd- 
wick, ]\Ir. Scull and Mr. Cooke. ^ 

The foregoing being read, it was Ordered. That the fol- 
lowing message be sent to the House of Commons : 

]\rr. Speaker : — We agTee to refer the address of Joseph 
Graham on the subject of a military academy to a joint 
committee as by you proposed ; and have for this purpose 
on our part appointed Mr. Turner, Mr. Carney and Mr. 
A.she.--^ 

— Senate Journal, 1S02. p. 0. 

Besolvcd, That the thanks of this (loneral Assembly be 
presented to Joseph Graham, Esq. of Lincoln County, for 
his plan of a military academy submitted to the considera- 
tion of this Legislature, and that this resolution be an- 
nexed to the diiferent copies directed to be printed of said 
plan for the information of the citizens of this State. 

— House Journal, ISO 2, p. 61. 



' House Committee : John Moore. Lincoln : ( 'alvin Jones. Johnston; 
WiUiam F. Strndwick, Orange; Henry H.Cooke. Wake: John G. 
Scull, Brunswick. 

^Senate Committee : James Turner. AVarren ; Stephen W. Carney. 
Halifax ; Samuel Ashe. New Hanover. 



Graham's Plan for Military Academy, 1802. 33 

THE PLAK 

1. That the Governor, for the time being, and the Trustees of 
General Oflicers of the Militia, be perpetual Trustees of the 
Academy; that they will visit it from time to time, and 

assist in directing such arrangements as will best promote 
the purposes thereby intended, and they be authorized to 
contract with and employ, either in the United States or 
Europe, a person suitably qualified to carry into effect the 
following plan of instruction and superintendence of the 
Academy ; and that that person be allowed such pay and 
rank as will procure one of respectability in his profes- 
sion. 

2. That the justices of the peace, and commissioned cadets to be chosen 

by counties. 

officers of the militia in each regiment, who may be present 
at the court that will be held in their county, after the 
first day of July in each year (due notice thereof being 
given) proceed to elect, by ballot, a yoimg man between 
the age of sixteen and twenty-five years, of a robust con- 
stitution, promising genius and good character, who can 
write a good hand, and compose tolerably well, under- 
stands arithmetic and geograph}^ and who resides and will 
probably continue to reside within the bounds of said 
regiment. 

3. That on a return being made of the persons elected classes. 
in such regiment, the first time, to the General of Division, 
they shall divide them by lot into four classes, as nearly 

as may be. The first class to commence on the first day 
of January following the election ; the second class on the 
first day of April, and the others in rotation, to commence 
quarterly. Each class to attend one year, from the time 
of their commencement, except such time as may be 
appointed for vacation. 

4. That such provision be made by law for their sup- support of cadets. 
port and emolument, as will indemnify them while in 

service, and such as will, together with the prospect of 
3 



34 GKAHA:\r's Plain- for Military Academy, 1802. 

future promotion, induce young men of the first respecta- 
bility to offer at the election. 
ampMe the'^'^ " ^^° ^' '^^'^^ every young man who shall serve with repu- 
*^*^^""*'^' tatioii for one year and have been instructed in the differ- 

ent branches taught in said Academy, shall have a certifi- 
cate thereof, signed by the President or Instructor and 
receive a Brevet from the Governor, and a Sword and full 
suit of Kegimentals, at the expense of the State; and on 
returning home to his regiment, he shall be considered as 
Adjutant thereof, until he receives a commission of higher 
grade. And when more than one such person is educated 
for each batallion, on the days of regimental or batallion 
musters, the Pield OfHcer will appoint them such duties 
as will render the most assistance in exercising and ma- 
ncEuvring the regiment or batallion ; and in two years after 
the commencement of the institution, it shall be understood 
that the General Officers are limited to persons thus in- 
structed, in the appointment of their Aids, Brigade-Ma- 
jors or Inspectors, and generally, all appointments in the 
Staff Department. 

6. It is i^roposed before every regimental or batallion 
muster, that the officers, non-commissioned officers, and 
musicians, be compelled to attend and be instructed by the 
Adjutant, such time as will be thought proper. There are 
in Xorth Carolina sixty counties, in each of which is one 
regiment; and about twenty counties have two, making in 
the whole about eighty regiments, which divided into four 
classes, will make twenty to each class, or thereabouts. 

PLAN OF INSTPUCTIOX. 

First Class. 
Only military It is proposcd to teacli tliis Class the Manual Exercise 

training. 

(for which purpose, muskets and bayonets ought to be 
provided), the keeping of their arms and accoutrements 
in proper order, the firing, facing, marching, wlieeling, 



Graham's Pla:^ for Military Academy, 1802. 35 

and whatever may be performed bj a single platoon; the 
duty of sentinels on guard, the duty of guards in mode of 
relieving, the manner of going and relieving the rounds, 
the duty of patrols, and generally, whatever may relate 
to the duties of the private soldier, non-commissioned ofh- 
cers and musicians, forms of company returns when in 
service, whether for provisions, arms, clothing, pay, or 
descriptive lists. 

As so much depends on accurate knowledge of the 
Platoon Exercise, and the duty of non-commissioned olii- 
cers and soldiers, it is thought the first three months will 
be time short enough to learn these duties. And let it 
also be remembered, that in an army of 20,000 men, the 
accuracy with which they change their positions, depends 
on the precision of the movement of each single platoon, 
and to have experienced and active non-commissioned offi- 
cers, is esteemed the soul of an army. It is unnecessary 
to use arguments to show that an officer, whatever his grade 
may be, ought to know the duty of each subordinate officer, 
and of the common soldier. 

Second Class. 
When this class assembles, the first class will, in addi- Military instruc- 

, , . en 1 • • 1 , tiou extended. 

tion to the duties, oi alternately instructing them what 
they have been taught learn manoiuvring by Regiment or 
Batallion, not only the evolutions in Steuben's Military 
Guide, but also some of those in the British System which 
were not wisely laid aside. And explanations given how 
they are applied when in actual service ; forms of en- 
campment and all such other duties as are performed by a 
single regiment, either in camp, in garrison, or in the 
field ; forms of Court Martials, and their proceedings ; style 
and manner of distributing the orders ; likewise forms of 
returns made by the Adjutant, and returns and accounts 
which may be in the Pay Master, Quartermaster, Com- 
missary or Hospital Department. And while in this class 



36 



Graham's Plax for Military Academy, 1802. 



Cavalry insti'ue- 
tion added. 



Artillery exercise 
engineerins:. 



each person should be provided with a well-boimd book in 
order to take do^vn in form, all such returns and accounts 
and such other matters as are hereinafter mentioned. 

Third Class. 

This class is to assist in instructing the first and second, 
and themselves to learn a system of Cavalry Discipline, 
such as that published by General Davie and sanctioned 
by the Legislature, or that practiced by Colonels Wash- 
ington and Lee, as less complex and better adapted to 
real service in a country which abounds in woods ; or per- 
haps some plan might be devised from them both; the 
duties of a Partisan who commands legionary corps com- 
posed of cavalry and infantry ; of ambuscades and secret 
marches and stratagems usually practiced to surprise an 
enemy ; of reconnoitering and drawing plans of a country 
supposed to be the seat of war, and inferences drawn 
showing the advantages you can have by having such 
plans in anticipating the enemies' movements and regu- 
lating your own ; of retreating in order in the presence of a 
superior enemy ; drawing plans of the smaller kinds of 
intrenchments in the field and the manner of fortifying 
Churches, mills, farms, fords, difficult passes, with the 
way of defending them. And after these demonstrations 
are gone through facing about and finding the most prac- 
tical and best method of attacking and carrying them if 
in possession of an enemy. 

Fourth Class. 

This class is to learn the Artillery Exercise, the use 
of cannon, carronades, howitz, mortars, etc., and generally 
(as far as time will permit) the duty of Engineers, and 
everything learned by the second and third Classes, on a 
larger scale: such as fortifying and defending villages, 
cities, encampments of large armies, and the manner of 
conducting sieges, choice of positions, and science of posts. 



Graham's Plan fok Military xVcademy, 1802. 37 

And at this stage of the Institution once in three montlis 
when the weather suits, for the purpose of instructing 
them in the duties of the fiekl, the students ought to 
march out about a fortnight or tliree weeks through 
the country, thirty or forty miles distant ; which would 
afford an opportunity of pointing out every advantageous 
position and what disposition ought to l>e made were an 
enemy met in any situation ; or if the}' were found at a 
ford or other strong position waiting for you by what 
method you could most easily pass or dislodge them. The 
use of this kind of exercise wall appear obvious. When 
afterwards traveling by himself, a student can not pass an 
advantageous position without examining it minutely; 
and at any place by a glance of the eye, or coup d'oeil 
(as the French call it) is enabled to judge of the best 
disposition that could be made of his party in every pos- 
sible situation. 

That a suitable number of Military Books be provided Literary instruc- 
at the expense of the State and that such arrangements be 
made of the time of the students so that a part be taken 
up in reading, writing, and drawing and the other in 
exercise and recreations. When the Institution is fully 
in operation it is proposed that the students be divided 
int( I sijiall com]:)anies and that those in the fourth class act 
as otHeers in rotation ; wdiich will not only habituate them 
to teaeh but save the expense of employing other instruc- . 
tors. The most exact subordination to be observed and 
good morals be inculcated and enforced. All kinds of oambiinstD bo 

"" _ . . . . forbidden. 

gaming to be prohibited except such athletic exercises as 
tend to invigorate the constitution and for obvious reasons 
the game of chess ; but even these to be admitted as pastime 
and not witli a view of gain. 

That such rea:ulations be established as will prevent dueling to be pro- 

^ hibited. 

Duelling and render the proposers, aiders and abettors 
thereof disgraceful ; and that a Court of Honor be com- 
pose d out of the third and fourth classes for the adjust- 



38 Graham's Plax foe Military Academy, 1802. 

iiKiit of all (litiVreiiees, such as proposed by Mr. Palev for 
the Army. 

Food regulations. In order to pay a due regard to economy and prevent 
the students from acquiring habits of luxury and effemi- 
nacy so destructive to the military character, it is pro- 
230sed that rations be provided and regularly issued; that 
for the hrst and second classes a cook be allowed for every 
four ; and that the third and fourth classes be allowed 
subalterns' lations and a cook be allowed for every two. 
Xo slave or person of color to be admitted as cook or 
waiter in the Institution"^ ; but free men elisted for the 
jDurpose, v\^hieh by increasing the number when maiKeu- 
vring will enable the instructor with more ease to demon- 
strate the more extended operations of an army. Also if 
the proposed Penitentiary Law should pass would it not 
be policy to have them in the vicinity of it in order to do 
such actual military duty as might be needed ? 

That no student be permitted to board in the neighbor- 
hood or fare otherwise than according to the rules of the 
Institution, while in health. 

Prudence in com- As the persons instructed are expected to command free 

mand to be tauglit. 

citizens, who have not been habituated to subordination 
(so essentially necessary to give energy and effect to mili- 
tary operations) that they may be instructed on first being 
vested with command of new troops to proceed with tlie 
greatest delicacy and prudence, giving no orders but what 
every intelligent soldier will see the necessity of, and when 
they give them, to do it in a firm, decided yet unostenta- 
tious manner, and see that they are promptly executed; 
and in case of disobedience to punish the delinquent in 
such way as prudence will suggest and authority justify; 
whatever complaints may be made on such occasions such 
conduct tends to promote the service and will meet the 
sup]iort and approbation of a large majority who are well 
disposed and attached to order. 



* Lest you educate a Toussaint L'Overture. 



Graham's Plan for Military Academy, 1802. 39 

That they may be instructed to pav the prof oimdest obedience to be 

•^ . ". . . iiiculeated. 

respect and exact obedience to the Civil authorities and 
that to be orderly members of civil society and humane to 
a vanquished enemy are reputed the concomitants of true 
honor and genuine bravery. That if ever they are engaged 
in war they endeavor to carry it on with as much lenity as 
is consistent with the state of hostility and agreeable to the 
rules which humanity formed and the example of the most 
civilized nations recommend ; that all kinds of cruelty or 
ill-treatment of prisoners, or citizens or waste of property 
that has no tendency to weaken the resisting force is to be 
avoided as ungentlemanly and fix an indelible stain on the 
arms of the troops guilty of such conduct. 

So:me Objections Anticipated. 

It may be observed that since the peace in 1783 our 
political horizon has been so clear, not the least prospect of 
war in any quarter with the United States; why then 
should we be at the trouble and expense of establishing 
such an Institution ; however advantageous it might be at 
another time at present our circumstances do not appear 
to require it. 

It is admitted that at no period since the Revolution 
were our prospects of peace so bright, but the greatest man 
our country has produced has told us : "that a time of peace 
is the time to prepare for war" ; then surely it is more 
necessary to qualify a suitable number of scientific officers 
to command us than to store up naval materials, fix ar- 
senals and in-ovide other military stores. If this plan Time to put plan 

^ t L jjj Operation. 

should he adopted the benefits resulting from it would not 
place us in a position to encounter difficulties sooner than 
eight or ten years from the time of its commencement and 
until a respectable number of those instructeel should be 
promured to the graele of fielel officers anel some e:cnerals ; 
as it is presumeel they will l)e after they leave the Academy. 
If their conduct appears to merit it thew will generally be 



40 Graham's Plaist foe , MiliTxIry Academy, 1802. 

promoted in case of vacancy, and when there are six or 
eight to a regiment of persons so instructed, if called into 
service, of a few wrecks, thej will transform the whole 
militia into a formidable and tolerably regular army, when 
commanded by such officers ; and notwithstanding the fair 
prospects at present, before ten years hence Ave may be in- 
volved in the most perilous situation. 
Will not always War is of ten produced by the most trifling incidents and 

liavt' peace. . . i • i ' t • i • i- 

arises from causes whuh no political sagacity can foresee. 
Of this history furnishes many examples. We have en- 
joyed peace for twenty years ; that it should continue so 
long again we can scarcely expect. I believe that for the 
last century no nation in Europe has enjoyed peace for 
forty years at one time. What reason have we then to 
flatter ourselves that we shall always continue in our 
present htipjiy condition and make no preparation to meet 
adverse fortune 'i On the article of expense let us com- 
pare the advantages resulting from the measure with the 
danger of neglecting it. I should not be charged with 
exaggerating to suppose that before twentj^ years hence 
the lives of ourselves, of our children, the security of our 
property, nay perhaps even our political existence as a 
free people might depend upon the military knowledge of 
those who command us in the field. Shall we then toil to 
acquire property ? Shall we expend considerable sums 
every year in forming salutary laws to regulate this prop- 
erty and protect our persons? Shall we be so anxious to 
preserve our excellent constitutions and the greatest privi- 
leges ever enjoyed by a nation ; and are we to hold .this and 
everything dear to us on so precarious a tenure as the pro- 
tection afi^orded by our militia as at present trained ? 
Expense of plan Surelv auv rcasoiialde exioonsc would bear no proiiortion 

much less than . . i 

of- vv""-^'^^'*^'" "^ '^^''^ to the probable advantage in case of war. In private life 
we find it is necessary to expend a part of our property 
to render the other part valuable to us. What wmihl we 
think of a farmer who would manure his land, work it 



Graham's Plan for Military Academy, 1802. 41 

well in the proper season and pay no attention to his fences, 
but suffer them to rot and his crop to be destroyed because 
it would take some money to employ some person to make 
rails enough to make a good fence ? Would we say he 
acted prudently or wisely in saving his money or that he 
was a good economist ? In a national view, the parallel 
will apply with equal force. 

Whatever may be your decision on these ]>ropositions No personal inter- 

\ . est in the plan. 

the undersigned is not a cent gainer or loser more than the 
rest of his fellow citizens ; but finding those, whose busi- 
ness it is, neglecting to bring forward anything that will 
remedy our defects in discipline; and being impressed 
with the necessity of something being done, and solicitous 
that our government be preserved to the latest ages in its 
present happy form ; and anxious that if ever his country 
should be engaged in war, the lives of his fellow citizens 
and the cause of his country should not fall a sacrifice to 
the ignorance of those who should command, he has deem- 
ed it a duty respectfully to offer his thoughts on this sub- 
ject. 

I am, gentlemen, with the highest respect and esteem, 
your most obedient, humble servant, 

Joseph Graham. 

Vesuvius Furnace, August 25, 1802. 

— From Gen. Joseph GraJiam and his B evolutionary 
Papers, pp. 127 et seq. 



1803 

1. GOV. TURNER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. DUDLEY'S BILL TO ENCOURAGE ACADEMIES. 

3. O'FARRELL'S BILL TO ESTABLISH ACADEMIES IN EACH 

COUNTY. 



42 



1. GOV. JAMES TURNER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

As the most certain way of handing down to our hitest Education the foe 

, . ^ P , -, .' , . ^ of tyranny and the 

posterity, our tree republican governinent, is to enlighten surest basis of 
the minds of the people, and to preserve the purity of their 
morals, too much attention can not be paid to the educa- 
tion of youth, by promoting the establishment of schools 
in every part of the State. Education is the mortal enemy 
to arbitrary governments, and the surest basis of liberty 
and equal rights. 

— House Journal, 1803. 



43 



2. DUDLEY'S BILL TO ENCOURAGE ACADEMIES. 

District neademies ^ BiH to vGst ill the different Superior Court Districts 

proposed. •■- 

of the State such 2>i"operty as may escheat to the State, 
for the purpose of supporting and encouraging, a seminary 
or seminaries of learning in each District in this State 
and for other purposes. 
eschtalKroperty ^^ ^^ enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
tain'academies.'^" North Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, that in future all sum or sums of money that 
shall be collected from the sale of such property as have 
heretofore escheated to the State, One moiety of such sums 
shall be 2>aid to the trustees of the University of the 
State of North Carolina, for the purpose of finishing and 
completing the buildings of the aforesaid University. 

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid 
that the moiety of such property as have heretofore 
escheated shall be paid in equal portions to the trustees of 
such seminaries of learning as are already or may hereafter 
be established in each Superior Court District in this State 
for th^. purpose of supporting such seminary or seminaries, 
in such Superior Court Districts. 
Jo to^h^aclde- ^° ^ncl be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
^^^^' that all property which may hereafter escheat to the State 

and after the passing of this act shall be vested in the dif- 
ferent Superior Court Districts in which such property 
may escheat ; the monies arising from the sale thereof shall 
be applied for the sole use and benefit of the seminary 
or seminaries, within said District by the Trustees thereof, 
havei'tr^hare" ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ further euactcd, that where there is at this 

time no seminary of learning established in the District 
in which said property may escheat, the monies arising 
from the sale thereof shall vest in, and be considered v/holly 
belonging to the different counties composing said District 
by an equal distribution, among the respective counties 

44 



Bill to Encourage Academies^ 1803. 45 

thereof — under such rules and reguhitions and be applied 
in the manner which the County Courts may direct. 

And be it further enacted, that there shall be appointed S'lLS ' "' 
a proper person in each District in this State a Commis- 
sioner of escheated property where the same has not been 
done by an act of the last General Assembly and the per- 
son so appointed shall give bond and security, in the man- 
ner which is now required by law ; and such appointments 
shall be made from time to time as may be found necessary, 
by joint ballot of the General Assembly. 

And be it further enacted that all Acts and clauses of 
acts which come within the meaning of this act be and the 
same is hereby repealed and made void. 

In Senate Decem. 2ist 1803. Read the first time and clerk's entries on 

bill ; its failure. 

passed. 

In House of Commons 21 Deer. 1803 read the first time 
and rejected. 

— Unpublislied Legislative Docmncnts, 1803. 



One academy in 
each county." 



Coiu-sf iif stuily : 
no dead laii.iiwas'es; 
French may l)e 
taudit. 



Trustees. 



Corporate powers. 



3. O'FARRELL'S BILL TO ESTABLISH ACADE3IIES IN EACH 

COOTY. 

A Bill to establish an Uuiforni aud general system of 
Education tlironghont the State of jSTorth Carolina. 

Section 1. Be it enacted l)y the General Assembly 
of the State of ^S^ortli Carolina and it is hereby enacted by 
the antliorit}- of the same, that from and after the passing 
of this act, there shall be an academy established in each 
cotmty in this State, to be called the academy of Sciences 
of the county of 

Sec. 2. That the course of education to be established 
in said academies shall consist of the study of the English 
language, writing, arithmetic. Mercantile book keeping, 
geometry, trigonometry, mensuration or surveying, navi- 
gation, geograj)liy, natural and experimental philosophy 
and the laws of iN^orth Carolina. That the study of the 
dead languages as being useless in a republican govern- 
ment and a great waste of time, shall form no part of the 
course of education of the academies of Sciences. That 
the study of the French language woid.d be very useful 
and ornamental to the citizens of this State, therefore, 
when the funds of the academy of sciences of any county 
will admit of the expense, a teacher of that langiiage should 
be added. 

Sec. 3. That the Justices of the Peace and Field Offi- 
cers of each county with such persons as the court shall 
from time to time think proper to appoint shall form a 
body politic liy the name of the trustees of the academy 
of Sciences of the county of 

Sec. 4. That they shall have perpetual succession and 
a common seal, may sue and be sued in any court of law 
or equity in the State or elsewhere, that they may receive 
donations of lands, houses or other jiroperty, buy land, 
agree with workmen for the building and repairing of 
houses, fix the salaries of teachers, the sum that each 

46 



Bill to Establish County Academies^ 1803. 47 

scholar will have to pay annually, and also every other 
thing necessary to the good government of the said acade- 
mies. 

Sec. 5. That all landed property acquired by the j^;Xfj^^;jJ.,:?J, 
academy of Sciences of any county by donation or pur- 
chase shall remain attached to the said academy forever, 
and be rented out from year to year, for the use of said 
academy to the highest bidder. Provided nevertheless, 
that any property given for a particular purpose, shall be 
applied to the use, and in the manner ordered by the will 
or deed of the giver. 

Sec. 6. That one-third of the trustees of the academy Quorum of xrus- 

■^ tees. 

of Sciences of any county, assembled at the court house 
of said county or elsewhere by adjournment, shall have 
power to make laws and regulations for the government of 
said academy, appoint a treasurer and other olhcers. 

Sec. 7. That in any county where the trustees of the ^^[^J^l^il.'''^*''' 
academy of Sciences of said county, shall have neglected 
to act in their corporate capacity, the court of that county 
shall receive and appropriate all donations made to the 
academy of Sciences of that county. 

This act shall commence and l)e in force from and after 
the jnissing thereof.^ 

In House of (Commons 10 Deer. 180:3 read the first time gf/;^'|oTtheMii. 
and ]>assed. 

In Senate 10 I)eeeml)er l.sOo, read the first time and 
passed. 

In House of Commons 13 Deer. 1803 read the second 
time and rejected. 

— U)ipuhUsJied Legislafire Documents. 1803, 



^This bill makes no provision for any certain revenue for tlie sup- 
port of the academies. 



v 



1804 

1. GOV. TURNER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. "SENTINEL" ON EXTRAVAGANCE. 



48 



1. GOT. JAMES TUR>ER'S MESSAGE OX EDITATIOX. 

It is a tnirli founded on the experience of the age, that, ^,|n^of educatkm 
knowledge is one of the firmest pillars of national strength ; "'tro<i"ced. 
and belie^dng that nothing wonld tend more to the adorn- 
ment of the character and respectability of this state, than 
a o-eneral diffusion of learning, I am desirous of seeing a 
plan of education introduced, v.-hich shall extend itself to 
every corner of the state. It is true that many respectable 
academies have been instituted in different parts of the 
state ; but it is also true, that several of them have failed 
for the want of sufficient supj^ort. and others are in a lan- 
2,'nishinii' state. Since the prosperity and happiness of a Prosperity and 

•- •- ill 11 happmes-i depend 

nation depends so much on the education of its citizens, '^"ate ou^ht'to aid 
individual exertions ought to be seconded by pnblic patron- ^iluals'"*' °^ "'*^'" 
age. Were this the case, our schools would be placed on a 
solid foundation; and the children of the poorest citizens 
might have access, at least, to necessary instniction. The 
best method of effecting this desirable end. will be devised 
by the General Assembly. It cannot. I know, be ac- 
complished without an addition to our revenue ; but cer- ,^^/'lr'L"?J,';.f ^'^'" 
t a inly every citizen will be willing and desirous to con- 
tribute towards an expense so well applied. 

— House Journal, 180 J/. 



49 



2. "SENTINEL" ON EXTRAVAGANCE. 

To the Citizens or Electors of tlie Legislature of North 
Carolina. 



Sees disaster in the 
increasing salaries 
of members of the 
Legislature. 



I think it is time to awake and open your eyes of under- 
standing, and see the approaching bane of distress in its 
tender bud, before it gets a strong root. 

If I am rightly informed, what has ruined monarchical 
and republican governments, has been extravagancy ; the 
means of heavy taxes— and I think our State is making 
some progress in that road of destruction. 

I am informed our Legislature, at their last session, 
allowed each member per day for his attendance, thirty 
shillings. A member's wages, when we were under his 
Britannic majesty's government, was seven shillings and 
six pence per day, and a dollar was worth eight shillings. 

The progress of our Legislature respecting their wages, 
vSea-ani's't''th<)se sincc pcace was proclaimed between Great Britain and 
the United States of America has been as follows, viz. : 
Their first allowance was twenty shillings per day, and a 
dollar v/as then worth twelve shillings ; their next rise was 
to twenty-five shillings, and our currency had appreciated 
to ten shillings a dollar ; and their next rise was, as above 
inserted, to thirty shillings. 

Fellow citizens, I think it is time to be alarmed, and 
shew our resentment, and to reject, at our next election^ 
every man who voted in favour of thirty shillings, or per- 
haps at the next assembly they will allow each member 
thirty-five shillings per day. 

Sentinel. 

[The name of the author of the above is left with tlie Printer.] 

— From Raleigh Register, May 7 , 180Jf. 



Details of the In 
crease in salaries 



respimsiljl 
increase 



50 



1805 

1. GOV. TURNER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



51 



1. (^OV. TURAER'S MESSAGE OIV EDITATION. 

Ask!< that some B\it iiiure es])ecially, let me ai>ain recommend to the 

tfoneral and efi'ec- i- ^ ^ 

tive phni of edu- gerioiis Consideration of the General Assembly the proper 

cation Vje adopted. ■ ^ ^ '- 

edncation of the youth of the State, npon some plan that 
shall be general and eft'ective, whether by affording some 
uniform support to one or more well regulated school or 
schools in every county in the State, after the example of 
our sister State South Carolina, or in some other adequate 
mode, is submitted to your wisdom. It is evident that 
the situation of our State in this resjDect calls for legisla- 
tive aid ; for though it must have given pleasure to every 
friend of science and good government, to observe of late 
years schools sj^ringing up in many parts of our country, 
yet it must also have pained him to see that when left to 
the support of individual patriotism alone, they have too 
Schools can not frequeutlv languished and sunk for want of conii>etent 

llounsh It left to -I ' J^ •■■ 

ai'oue'''"'^^'^^""'' patronage and well-qualified Teachers. Under the pro- 
tection of government, it is presumed, those fundamental 
institutions in which our youth would not only be taught 
the elements of useful knowledge but the principles ol 
virtue, and on which 2)erhaps depend the future prosperity, 
hajipiness and freedom of the State, would lie completely 
upheld. 

— From Message to Assembly, 1805, House Journal. 



180CJ 

1. GOV. ALEXANDER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



53 



1. GOV. NATHANIEL ALEXANDER'S MESSAGE ON 
EDUCATION. 

Infinitely impor- Permit 1116, gentlemen, to call voiir attention generally 

tiuit that the peo- " . , . . , 

pie be enlightened, tu tliose ohjects, the proper management of which is calcu- 
lated to secure our liberities, our personal happiness, and 
the wealth and respectability of the State. 

On the subject of education, little can be said which has 
not been said already by my predecessor. But I will take 
the liberty to observe, that in a government constituted 
as ours, where the people are everything, where they are 
the fountain of all power, it becomes infinitely important 
that they be sufficiently enlightened to realize their inter- 
ests, and to comprehend the best means of advancing them. 
Indeed, it may be affirmed with truth, that unless they 
be informed the duration of their liberties will be precari- 
ous, their enemies will seduce them from the pursuit of 
their true interests, or their own prejudices lead them 
into fatal dangers. 

— House Journal, 1806. 



54 



1807 

1. GOV. ALEXANDER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



55 



1. GOV. ALEXANDER'S MESSAGE OX EDUCATION. 

Education a factor ^lie coiiiiiion obiects of leoislatioii may be comin-ised 

in the happiness •' >" ^ ^ 

of the community. ^^j^,|^,j. j|^^, following heads : Education, Internal Imiu-ove- 
ment, the Security of Property, and the Punishment of 
Crimes. Your attention has often been awakened to these 
several subjects ; therefore it is unnecessary for me, at this 
time, to comment ujion them ; yet they are worthy of youi' 
consideration ; for on the manner in which they are ac- 
complished, eyentually must depend the happiness of the 
community. 

— House Journal. 1807. 



56 



1808 

1. GOV. WILLIAMS' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



57 



1. GOV. BENJAMIN WILLIAMS' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

Education and I will ti'espass no lonffer on your patience, but will close 

internal improve- _ \ ^ . . 

ments of primary fj^iig communication bv wishino- you a happy session, and 

importance. •-' ~ '^ r i ^ i 

by observing that the proper Education of the Youth of 
our Country, and the improvement of our internal Naviga- 
tion, are objects of such primary importance as justly to 
have a first claim to your attention. 

— House Journal, 1808. 



58 



1809 

1. GOV. STONE'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



59 



1. GOV. DAVID STONE'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

Importance of Kext, aiicl secoHcl oiilv, to tlic support of oiii* independent 

education. -r» , i ■ r^ " ■ • ,■ • • i ^ ^■ 

Republican Government, m puvity ol principle and nndi- 
minished rights, is the importance of such ^n'ovisions for 
the education of our Youth, as will afford, in certain pros- 
pect, the grateful anticipation, that independence gained 
by the toil, the blood and treasure of our fathers and broth- 
ers confirmed and supported by our own best efforts, will 
be transmitted to our sons, prepared by their education to 
manage its concerns with dignity and skill, and, when re- 
quired by just occasion, to support it with firmness and 
valour. 
University and The libcralitv of vour predecessors has done much for 

suborainate schools •-' "^ ^ 

should be fostered, ^jj^ e^use of letters aiid science, by the establishment of a 
Seminary for giving instruction in the higher branches 
thereof, within our State. But much remains to be done, 
as well for the perfecting of the Seminary, as for the more 
extensive establishment and distribution of subordinate 
schools. ISTor will it be forgotten in your labors upon this 
subject, that letters and science, though useful as lights 
to enable a sound heart to shape a safe and beneficial course 
through the voyage of life, are mere delusions when not 
controlled and directed by correct moral principle, chas- 
tened and purified by the precepts df our holy Religion. * * 

whTcation^* °^ While it is equally unnecessary and impracticable to 

enumerate all the advantages which may be confidently 
hoped from judicious establishments and plans of educa- 
tion among ourselves, it may not be improper to give a 
transient view of some. 

They afford our country a more extensive choice and 
general command of virtues and talents, for the direction 
of her affairs, by more extensively unfolding and display- 
inff the germs of excellence in the minds of her vouth. 

They impress upon the more advanced and elderly, the 
pro]n'iety and necessity of exemplary deportment. 

60 



STOiSTE's Message on Education, 1809. 61 

Relieve parents from much of the anxiety and uneasiness 
of distant separation from their children. 

Save a considerable amount of our circulating medium 
among strangers. 

Prevent the impression upon the minds of our youth, 
of unreasonable predilections in favor of alien institutions 
and manners, as well as of prejudices against those of our 
OAvn state, and against the condition of society, of which 
their interest and duty require them to become members. 
Enable them to acquire an early and more intimate knowl- 
edge of our own municipal institutions, by being situated 
v.'here those institutions are more often the subject of con- 
versation and enquiry. Attach the respect, gratitude and 
reverence of our youth to persons and places within our 
own limits, as being their guides to science and virtue, and 
the scenes of the juvenile exertions and amusements, and 
give them a more intimate knowledge of the principles 
and talents of those with wlioan they are afterwards to act 
in scenes of real business. 

— House Journal, 1S09. 



1810 

1. GOV. STONE'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. EDUCATION IN CASWELL COUNTY. 

3. EDUCATION IN EDGECOMBE COUNTY. 

4. EDUCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA. 



62 



1. GOV. STONE'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

The education of our youth of both sexes, as indissolubly because educa- 

•^ ' ^ tioiial facilities 

connected with the vital principles of our Institutions, will lairthotaskl^not 
deserve an important place in your deliberations. Those ^'^*' fn'i^ii^'Li- 
of us who can look back a few years, must view with heart- 
felt satisfaction, the multiplied facilities afforded at this 
time for procuring a virtuous education, beyond what then 
existed among us. But I trust we shall never consider 
our task as finished, until preparation shall be made, and 
opportunity afforded for the most obscure members of 
society to procure such a portion of instruction for their 
offspring, as shall enable them satisfactorily to discharge 
the most important duties in society. It is by this alone 
that our country can obtain, in the management of its high 
concerns, the full benefit of that dispensation of intelli- 
gence which shall be made to it. 

House Journal, 1810. 



63 



From 1750 to 1775 
Dot one-third peo- 
j)le could read : 
much improve- 
ment since. 



Rolit. H. Childcrs' 
Axork as a teacher. 



Caswell academy 
and its teachers.' 



2. EDUCATION IJf CASWELL COUNTY. 

The progress of society and civilization depends npou the 
edncatiou and virtue of the people ; great improvements . 
therefore, have been made since the first settlement of th? 
county. From 1750 to twenty-five years after, it is com- 
puted that not more than one-third of the inhabitants 
could read, and scarcely half that number could 
write a legible hand; from 1775 to 1800 what was then 
called a common English education, viz: "to read, write 
and cypher as far as the rule of three," was given to a 
little more than half the inhabitants, but from 1800 up 
to the present time the progress of civilization and litera- 
ture has been greater than for perhaps fifty years antece- 
dent to that time. The great revival of religion about 
that period seems to have contributed much to the dis- 
semination of morality, sound principles and good order in 
society ; but as the naturalists have observed every calm 
is succeeded by a storm, and accordingly many of the 
inferior class of society appear now more depraved than 
ever. 

For the progTCSs of literature in the inferior branches 
<»f an education, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic 
since 1800, the people of this county are much indebted to 
Mr. Robert H. Childers. Greater improvement in writing 
could not be expected from any man ; at least one-half of 
the youth of the county A\dio write well, were taught, either 
directly or indirectly, by this excellent pensman. 

Situated within a quarter of a mile of the Court House 
is Caswell Academy. The plan of Caswell Academy was 
first conceived and brought to public view in the winter of 
1801. Early in the succeeding year between five and six 
hundred dollars were subscribed, and during the year 1803 
it was completed for the reception of students. The Rev. 
Hugh Shaw and Bartlctt Yancey were the teachers for 
the fii'st tw^o years ; the number of students was from fifty- 

64 



Education in Caswell, 1810. 65 

live to sixty-five each year. From tliat period tlie institu- 
tion was not in a very flourishing state until 1S08, since 
which time it has prospered much imder the direction of 
Mr. John W. Caldwell — a gentleman educated in Guilford 
by his father, the Kev. David Caldwell, well known in the 
State for his services in disseminating literature, morality 
and religiun among his fellow citizens. The funds of the 
Academy at present are low ; it is now, and always has 
been, dependent on tlie liberality of the trustees of the 
institution, and a few other public-spirited gentlemen of 
the county for support ; no library of consequence is yet 
established — a plan has, however, been suggested and is 
now going into operation by which it is hoped that a good 
library will be procured in a few years. The number of 
students is at present thirty-eight. 

Ilico Academy, situated near the "Red House" in Cas- huo Academy, 
well, was erecteel, it is believed, in 1801, by a number 
of public-spirited gentlemen in that part of the county. 
Mr. Shaw, after he left Caswell Academy became the 
teacher at this Academy for two or three years, during 
which time, it is believed, it had between thirty and forty 
students. It has since that time been on a decline, and 
about the middle of last month it was consumed by fire. 
There had been a school taught in it this year, but no fire 
had been used in it for several months previous to its being 
burnt ; it is generally believed that some vile incendiary 
put fire to it, for the purpose of consuming it. The trus- 
tees have, however, determined to rebuild it of brick upon 
a more extended plan. 

Since the establishment of these institutions the progress iniiuencedfcas- 
of virtue and of science in the county has exceeded the Aeadcmie^.''^^'' 
most flattering hopes of the friends of literature. The 
education that has been acquired there by our youth seems 
to have benefitted, not only "its votaries, but to have im- 
parted its blessing to all around them. The inhabitants 
generally are more enlightened — men who thirty or forty 



66 



Education in Caswell, 1810. 



students at the 
University. 



Caswell has no 
men of great 
talents. 



Physicians and 
lawyers. 



years ago were considered the best informed and most 
learned among us are now scarcely equal in point of 
information to a school-boy of fifteen years. The vener- 
able fathers are, however, almost to a man (those that are 
able) the supporters of seminaries of learning; they seem 
to look forward with pleasing anticipation to the utility 
their country will derive from the cultivation of the 
minds of our youth ; there are, however, some designing 
demagogues, 'Svolves in sheep's clothing," who', because 
they can read a chapter in the Bible (when it is in large 
print) and drag over a congressional circular (after a 
manner) think they have learning enough, wish to excite 
prejudice against the institutions and their students — 
"but black sheep are to be found in almost every flock." 

Since the commencement of the year 1804 this county 
has sent the following students to the University of this 
State, the foundation of whose education (except one) was 
laid at these institutions, viz : Saunders Donoho, Bart- 
lett Yancy, Edward D. Jones, James W. Brown, Romulus 
M. Saunders, David Hart, and John W. Graves ; besides 
them the following students received the rudiments of their 
education at Caswell Academy : Dr. Horace B. Salter- 
white, now of Salisbury; William W. Williams, of Hali- 
fax, Virginia; Archibald Haralson, of Person; Elijah 
Graves, of Granville, and James Miller, of Person. 

Caswell is not distinguished for men of talents. We 
have no men of the first rate talents, but a great number 
are entitled to the rank of mediocrity and some above it. 
These are all natives, for we have no spreeing' Irishmen, 
revolutionizing Erenchraen, or speculating Scotchmen 
among us. 

In this county there are five practicing physicians : Dr. 
John McAden, Dr. William S. Webb, Dr. Samuel Dabney, 
Dr. James Smith and Dr. Edward Eoulks. Of the pro- 
fession of the law, now residing in the county, are the 
following gentlemen : Bartlett Yancy, Edward D. Jones 
and Solomon Graves, Jr. The order in which each ^^I'o- 



Education in Caswell, 1810. 67 

fessional character is named denotes the priority of time 
in which they commenced the practice of their profession. 

There are two societies in the county constituted for in- 
tellectual improvement. One at Caswell Academy and an- Literary societies. 
other at the tavern of Jethro Brown, Esq. Their exercises 
are mostly polemical. We have no j)ublic library in the 
county. 

About two years ago several gentlemen of Caswell and 
Person had formed themselves into a society for the en- Agricultural 

. , . . societies. 

couragement of the arts and agriculture ; but that spirit 
of emulation and national pride which then characterized 
all seems now to be possessed by a few only. Little has 
been done for the progress and promotion of this society as 
yet. 

The religion of the inhabitants may be best estimated 
by the number of churches and communicants ; there are c'hurehes. 
four Baptist churches and about 300 communicants ; four 
Presbyterian congregations and about 200 or 250 com- 
municants; three or four Methodist societies, and about 
250 or 300 communicants. 

Caswell is a very healthy part of the country. The 
common diseases of the inhabitants are nervous and billions Health, 
fevers. The remedy for the most part is stimulants and 
purgatives, the composition of which is best known to the 
physicians. 

The amusements of the polite part of society consists 
in balls, tea parties and visiting parties. Those of an Amusements, 
inferior class consist of Saturday night frolics, now become 
almost obsolete; shooting matches and horse-racing, afford 
amusement to the better sort of men, and now and then mav 
be seen a party with an old rusty pack of cards amusing 
themselves for whiskey. The only Sportinii; Club in the 
county is the "Jockey Club''' of the Caswell Turf. 

August 11th, ]S10. Baktlett Yancy. 

— From the North Carolina University Magazine, Nov.^ 
1860. 



3. EDUCATION IIS EDGECOMBE i OiMY. 



Knowledge 
making progress. 



Electioneei'iofj 
customs. 



As to the "progress of civilization/' little can be said 
here. Knowledge is certainly more abundant than 
formerly. Learning, morality and religion arc more en- 
couraged, or at least viewed with more complacency. The 
peaceful, social and humane virtues, it is believed, have 
more than ke2)t pace with the growth of population. A 
thirst for knowledge was never great here. The people are 
neither aspiring, restless nor basely servile. They are 
generally satisfied with their political situations, I'ud 
seldom trouble their minds with politics. There are not 
more than one hundred and eight newspapers taken ^^■eeklv 
in the county. Although learning is not generally dif- 
fused, yet since the establishment of the University of this 
State there are more who possess liberal education now 
than at any former period. 

There is a certain suavity of manners employed in 
many ])laces by candidates for popular favor very little 
studied or desired here till within a few years past. It 
consists in a peculiar shake of the hand, called liy our 
farmers the electioneering shake — in purchasing brandy 
and drinkino' with the people — persuading them to get 
drunk, whereby they may lose sight of the object of an 
election — flattering and gulling the people with empty ]n'0- 
fessions of extraordinary devotion to their interests, &c. 
These means when artfully employed generally answer the 
desired end. Twenty years ago the practice was unknown 
in Edgecombe, and was considered as the reproach of some 
of our neighboring counties. It has since those days lieen 
introduced as a refinement — but as the first attempts at 
this innovation it was viewed as an indication of distrust 
to the sober judgment of the ]>eople. But so fascinating 
was the liquor that its use on these occasions became 
fashionable, and ]>o-|mlar among all classes, and a liberal 
distribution of it became necessary to a man's election. 

68 



Educatio^t in Edgecombe^ 1810. 69 

But to the credit of the candidates of 1812 they have met 
in cancus and agreed to renounce this expensive and dan- 
gerous mode of electioneering. 

There are seventeen county schools in the county, at amuoo'Icho^iare^^ 
which are about 400 scholars; nothing more is attempted "Xois'fl^y^Tears 
to be taught in them than the elements of reading, writing ''^^°' 
and arithmetic, and but few of the teachers are qualified 
to do justice to those. jSTothwithstanding this apparently 
infant state of literature, we may easily discover that it is 
progressing: for fifty years ago there was not more than 
one or two schools in the limits of the whole county. Eor 
want of an academy in this county several have sent to 
those in the adjacent ones, viz: At Westrayville and Vine 
Hill. It is in prospect to establish an academy at Mount 
Prospect, in this county, and we can not account for the 
delay otherwise than for the general indifference with 
which learning is still viewed. 

It is to be auprehended that in this country general oi.jccts tod^ad 
knowlediic will never characterize nianv of its citizens as i'^'-': "i !'|"'-ition; 

' >■' (lisliii.yui.slu'd men 

long as the dead languages are viewed as the basis of a "'' t'^^' i'"'*'^^- 
lilxral education. This county has never been prolific in 
nun of talents, or they have been obscured for want of 
opportunities of educati(m. Among the most distin- 
guished cluiracters it has afforded was Jonas Johnston. 
Vv'hose name and character have already been mentioned. 
Had he received an education corresponding with his gen- 
eral talents, he might have done credit to any country. 
Thomas Hall was a man who possessed considerable natural 
talents, with the advantages of a gTammatical education. 
He was quite conversant with the Latin classics, which 
he made the most of. * He i-epresented our county in the 
state convention, but never offered again for any public 
office. He was a lawyer of some emminence and would 
bare made a shininii' character at the bar had he not been 
ahnost led away from his ]u-ofessional studies by a strong 
ivctical genius. He, however, continued to practice as 



70 Education in Edgecombe^ 1810. 

long as he lived, and had a considerable share of business 
in the courts where he practiced. But his mind seemed 
more frequently engaged in poetry than the laws, and 
there have been frequent instances that while his opponent 
was speaking in a cause in which he was employed, that 
he was engaged in writing satyr ical verses. His favorite 
subject was satyre, but he wrote with equal facility on 
other subjects. He also possessed and indulged in a most 
biting and rtady wit, and was never at a loss for repartee; 
l;ut like most other wits, he generally made fewer friends 
than enemies. Some few of his pieces are yet in tlie hands 
of his friends ; but the bulk of them which would have been 
sufficient to form a handsome volume are now lost to the 
world. 
ForuuTiy 110 child- We havc but fcw uiorc of literarv talents in the countv: 

ren sent torollcfic. " ^ 

tlie means of educatiem having heretofore been much cir- 
cumscribed; we have more now, however, than at any 
fe>rmcr period ; and we have never been destitute of men 
in whom we could confide our interests. Before the estab- 
lishment (if enir University no children w^ere sent out of 
the county to any college or acaelemy. 
oneinwyeriii the At prescut there is e>nlv one professional law character 
ill the county, and he a native of the county ; but there 
are more physicians than at any former period, who can 
neit bnast, however, of great erudition. Quacks are abund- 
ant and are privilegeel to boast. 

Twd-thinis people It is bclievcd that abnut two-thirds of the people gen- 
can read ; illiter- '■ '■ ^ ^ 

acy of wumeii. orally cau read: and one-half of the males write their 
names, but not more than one-thirel of the women can 
write. The girls now at school are learnino- and are very 
desirous to write ; it is deemed a more important accom- 
plishment ill tliat sex, among the common people now than 
formerly. 

Prosress of learn- Tlic progTCss of leariiiiio; for twenty-five years back has 

injj ^^lo\v. -i i ^ ^ ' i i • i 

l;ecn slow, and perhaps has not more tlian kept pace with 
the ]^opulntion, till within these two or three years. The 



Education in Edgecombe^ 1810. 71 

people now manifest some disposition to diffuse learning; 
perhaps from their finding the means of obtaining it more 
accessible now than heretofore. The custom at the public 
schools, and in some towns, among those who are desirous 
of intellectual improvement, has found its way here. So- 
cieties have been formed, and kept up with a tolerable 
degree of spirit, greatly to the benefit of the members 
thereof, both in talents and morals. Novelty is a great 
matter here. We are generally ready to encourage any 
new institution that promises beauty or utility, but when 
it becomes familiar we grow indifi^erent. 

Three or four vears ao-o a subscription was set on f cot f^ee school at- 

-^ ^ tempted ; failed. 

for establishing a free school for the education of poor 
children in the county — two or three hundred dollars were 
soon subscribed. A few children received the benefit of 
this subscription (for it never became an institution) but 
as the matter never got into proper hands it languished and 
died. But unhappily for Avant of sufficient interest in 
literary pursuits, and perhaps for want of a more perma- 
nent residence of many who compose these societies, they 
have generally languished in a few months, and are with 
difticulty sustained. Some attempts have been made to ^'''^^ ''^'"*"®*' 
procure libraries, but this for some of the above reasons, 
was never effected, except by a society that was in existence 
about fifteen years ago. On the dissolution of that body 
the books were scattered abroad, or divided among those 
who contributed to the establishment. The agricultural ^tf iSan'tlfn- 
society has appropriated a sum of money to procure an established, 
ao'ricultural library. Some donations are made of books 
for this purpose. On the fourth day of July, 1810, pro- 
posals were made for the establishment of a society for the 
promotion of agriculture and the arts. The plan has suc- 
ceeded, so far as to go into operation. It has now upwards 
of thirty respectable members, whose public spirit is thus 
manifested, greatly to their benefit, and it is hoped to the 
benefit of the cnuntv. The societv convenes on the second 



72 Education in Edgecombe, 1810. 

day of every court of quarter sessions in the county; ad- 
journing from day to day as tliey see fit. 

— From North Carolina University Magazine, April, 
1861. 

(Jeremiah Battle, M.D.) 



4. EDUCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA. 

The University 

Never conferred greater benefits or exhibited fairer TWrr>-fivlhi'^pre'^ 

j)rospects of continued success than at the present time. '^^^'^^^'^^ ''*' 

It has now precisely 100 students, of wlioni about 65 are 

on the Establishment and the remainder in the Academy. 

Some estimate may be formed of the value of our other 

Seminaries in different parts of the State from the number 

of students they have severally furnished to the University. 

Of the students now on Chapel Hill 6 received the first ft'^S'to fhf'"^ 

rudiments of their classical education at the Academy in """''^y- 

Louisburg; 6 at Tialeigh, 4 at Caswell, 1 at Belfield, Va. ; 

1 at Pittsborough, 1 at Guilford, 1 at Warrenton, 4 at 

Salisbury, 2 at Spring Hill (Lenoir), 1 at Fayetteville, 

4 at Ebtnezer, Ya. ; 2 at Hampden Sydney College, Va. ; 

23 at Chapel Hill, and the remainder at different places in 

this State, Virginia and South Carolina, unknown to us. 

Of the merits of the Institution in the higher uranches Life of institution 

lUio to the exer 

of instruction nothing' need be said. The Institution it- 'ji™^"''itspi''-'-'- 
self, deserted and frowned upon by the Legislature, has 
been preserved in existence by the talents and exertions 
alone of its President. Piiblic opinion has at Icng-th utter- 
ed its strong voice in its favour, and the Legislature has hafa^silied'the'*''' 
again extended to it its fostering hand. We em a former 
occasion noticed the success of the President's exertions 
to obtain private contril>utions. These will enable the 
Trustees to enclose the Main Building, and the success of 
the former attempt leaves no room to doubt but enough 
will be obtained by subscriptions to complete it. 

The Preparatorv School is now much superior to what ^he preparatory 

^ ' J school : the prcsi- 

it has been at any former period. Its teacher is unques- fhe te^u-hw"' '"'^ 
tionably the best Latin and Greek scholar in the State, 
anel equal to any whatever. We are informed that Presi- 
dent Caldwell, in his zeal to procure his valuable services 

73 



74 



Education in ISTobth Carolina^ 1810. 



Course of study iu 
academy. 



First term fresh- 
man class. 



Freshman class, 
second term. 



to the Institution, contributes to liis compensation in addi- 
tion to the salary allowed by the Trustees. 

To show how the education of a youth should be con- 
ducted who is intended for the University, we here give 
a C*atalogue of the books read by the several classes in the 
University, with remarks extracted from a publication 
ordered by the Trustees in July last. 

ISTo. I. The Academy. 

Euddiman's Rudiments. 
Corderius, 40 colloquies. 
^Esop, 40 fables. 
Selectas e Vcteri. 
Selectse Profanis. 

Grammatical Exercises or Mair's Introduction. 
Csesar's Commentaries, 3 or 4 books. 
Sallust and Prosody. 
Virgil, to the 7th ^Eneid. 
Wettenhall's Greek Grammar, translated. 
Greek Testament, 5 chapters of John. 
Murray's Grammar, the large text. 

Reading, spelling, writing, and arithmetic, to the rule 
of three. 

No. II. The Coixege. July 1. 

Horace's Odes, 5 books. 

Mair's Introduction. 

Prosody. 

Greek Grammar. 

John's Gospel, from the 5th chapter. 

ISTo. III. January 1. 
Freshman Class — Half Year Advanced. 

Horace, the remainder. 

Lucian, 28 or 30 dialogues. 

Mair's Introduction, the Ancient History. 

Greek Grammar, and Prosody. 



Education in ISTorth Carolina^ 18 JO. 



75 



First term sopho- 
more. 



Second term soph- 
omore. 



No. IV. July 1. 

SopJiomore Class. 

Cicero, 4 or 5 orations. 
Dilwortli's Arithmetic, throupjioiit. 
Murray's Grammar, with remarks. 
Xenophon, the first book. 

No. V. January 1. 
Cicero, 4 or 5 orations more. 
Homer's Iliad, 1 or 2 books. 
Geography, and the use of the Globes. 

No. VI. July 1. 

Junior Class. 

Elements of Geometry to 219th article, or to the end of First term junior. 
the 4th of Euclid. 

Simpson's Algebra, to the Problems. 

No. VII. January 1. 

Remainder of Geometry, or the 5th and 6th of Euclid, second term junior. 

Plane Trigonometry. 

Logarithm. 

Ewing's Synopsis on Heights, Distances and Surfaces. 

Simpson's Algebra, 152 Problems. 

No. VIII. July 1. 
Senior Class. 
Helsham, to the motion of prejects. 
Blair's Rhetorick, abridged. 

No. IX. January 1. 
Remainder of Helsham. 

Paley's Moral Philosophy, omitting politics. 
Duncan's Logic. 
Ferguson's Astronomy, 158 pas'es. 



First term senior. 



Second term 
senior. 



76 



Education in jSToeth Carolina, 1810. 



Teachers. 



English em 
sized. 



pha- 



Female dcpi 
ment. 



R-eparatory 
and literary 

and lilirarv 



The Ealeigh AcxYdemy 

Has now about its usual number of students. Mr. Rice 
is its PrincipaL He will be succeeded in a few weeks by 
the Eev. Mr. McPbeeters, W'ho is recommended as a man 
^f profound learning and considerable literary taste. Mr. 
Greville teaches in the English Department, Grammar, 
Geography, Eeading, Speaking and Composition. 

Our language, heretofore too much neglected, is begin- 
ning to receive due attention ; and from the exertions of a 
very competent teacher we expect hereafter to witness at 
our exhibitions a better style of eloquence than usual, both 
in reading and speaking. Mrs. Sambourne teaches Music 

'^■'" out of the Academy, and Painting and Embroidery in it. 
She presides over the manners and deportment of the Fe- 
male Department, but instruction is imparted by the three 
gt ntlemen, who in rotation enter the school to attend to 
their several classes. We think this plan and arrangement 
superior to that which lieretofore prevailed. Men of edu- 
cation and talents are probabl}' the most efficient instruc- 
tors. Mr. Dickson teaches in the Preparatory School. 

%^i°iy He is a oood accountant and a very elegant penman. A 
Literary Society of students and a very handsome Library 
are important advantages of this Institution. 



Teachers 
library. 



Teachers 
course of ; 



The LouiSBrRG Academy 

;,nd Is under the direction of Dr. Bogle, as Principal. He 

is a man of genius, an excellent classical scholar, and to 
a very happy talent for instructing unites an uncommon 
zeal in the cause to wliich he is devoted. He is assisted by 
Mr. Crudup. The Academy has now between 45 and 50 
students. A respectable Library has lately been estab- 
lished there. 

Fayetteville Academy 

Has upwards of V20 students. The Reverend William 
L. Turner is Princii>a], whose merits as the Chief of the 



Education. IN North Carolina, 1810. 7' 

Institution are well known. Music, Painting and the 
French Language are said to be taught in a very superior 
manner by Miss Beze, a native of France. Competent 
assistants are provided for the several departments. 

Wkstrayville Academy 
In ISTash Couiitv, under the direction of Mr. John Bob- Teachers mid 

" ..... , ■■ . patrons. 

bitt. Of the merits of this institution we know nothing. 
Xo small recommendation of its teacher is that he is a 
graduate of the University of JSTorth Carolina. We can 
not, therefore, doubt his fitness for his vocation. Mr. S. 
Westray and Dr. T. Jones are patrons of the Institution, 
and they are gentlemen in whom the public will willingly 
confide. 

Casweix Academy. 

Of this Seminary Mr. John W. Caldwell is Principal. Teacher. 
The school is said to be a good one. Board in the vicinity 
is remarkably low. 

Mr. Mordecai's Female Seminary, Warrenton. 

This is conducted by Mr. Mordecai himself, with the Teachers, 
assistance of his son and daughters. We believe this to be 
an excellent Seminary. Its conductors possess talents and 
a fine literary taste. The beauties of such authors as standard English 

.,,. iVi ciiT 1 •! • ■ authors read. 

Addison and Pope are unlolded to the pupils in so inter- 
esting and engaging a manner that the taste is generally 
chastened and refined to the standard of Classick purity. 
The mind is elevated superiour to the enjoyment of silly 
novels, which but too often deprave the taste, corrupt the 
heart and enfeeble the understanding. Music and Paint- Musieai composi- 

. , ^ . , tion and painting:. 

mg are taught by Mr. Miller. His puiDils, by being taught 
both to read and compose music, are made to understand 
it. His Painters are copyists, but they copy only from the 
Volume of ISTature. 

Besides these there are several other respectable Acade- other academies, 
mies and Grammar Schools in the State, viz : at Hyco, Cas- 
well ; Asheville, Buncombe County ; Salisbury, Salem. 



78 Education in North Carolina, 1810. 

Pittsboro, Lumberton ; Laurel Hill, Eiclimond County ; 
Warrenton ; Spring Hill, Lenoir ; l^ewbern, Edenton ; near 
Mr. John Sims', in Granville, and we believe some others, 
but have too little knowledge of them to enable us to speak 
of them with propriety. 

—Editorial, Raleigh Star, March 15, 1810. 



1811 

1. GOV. SMITH'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



79 



1. GOV. BEXJAMI> S^IiTH'S MESSAGE ON EDliATION. 

Education all im- Too iiiueli attention can not be paid to the all-important 

portant ; ignorance ^ 

a foe to free gov- snbiect of Education. In despotic governments, where 

ernment. J x o ^ 

the supreme j^ower is in possession of a tyrant or divided 
among* an hereditary aristocracy (generally corrupt and 
wicked) the ignorance of the people is a security to their 
rulers ; but in a free government, where the offices and 
honors of the state are open to all, the superiority of their 
political privileges should be infused into every citizen 
from their earliest infancy, so as to produce an, enthusi- 
astic attachment to their own country, and ensure a jeal- 
ous support of their own constitution, laws and govern- 
•Some I.Ian should mcut. A Certain degree of education should be placed 

be devised to place *- 

education within within the reach of everv child of the state; and I am 

reach of every " ■ 

^'^^^'^- persuaded a jdan may be formed upon economical princi- 

ples that would extend this down to the poor of every 
neighborhood, at an expense triflino; beyond expectation, 
when compared with the incalculable benefits from such 
a philanthropic and politic system. In these schools, sub- 
ject to i^roper superintendence, the rising generations 
might be brought up in the true principles of the Christian 
Eeligion, which includes the purest morality, and would 
prevent that multi]ilicity of crime now' too frequently 
perpetrated in the country. 

— House Journal, ISll. 



80 



181^ 

1. GOV. HAWKINS' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. THE NEW BERN CHARITABLE SOCIETY. 

3. TREASURY RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES. 



81 



1. GOV. WM. HAWKINS' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

object of great The encouragement of Agriculture and manufactures, 

the improvement of our roads and inland navigation, and 
the promotion of learning, are objects of such great im- 
portance, that a doubt can not be entertained as to the 
propriety of their occupying a considerable share of your 
deliberations. 

— House Jouinal, 1S12. 



82 



2. THE NEW BERN CHABITABLE SOCIETl. 

All Act to incorporate the !N^ewbern Female Charitable 
Society. 

That the individuals who are at present associated in ,^,'J','/,'!lii,ur'.,Vpoor 
the town of ;N"ew^bern, for the relief of the poor and the aisoreiieVotuie' 
education of j)oor female children, under the name of the ^°'''^' 
I^ewbern Female Charitable Society, and those who hero- Name, 
after may become members of the said Association agree- 
ably to the rules which may be therein established, be, 
and the same are hereby incorporated into a body corporate corporate powers 
politic, by the name of the iSTewbern Female Charitable 
Society, and as such shall have perpetual succession, may 
sue and be sued, be capable of acquiring and holding real 
or personal estate ; have ability to make and ordain laws 
and regulations for their own government, and elect their 
own officers, and generally to do, receive and perform all 
such matters and things as rightfully belong to, or are 
usually incident to bodies corporate or politic within this 
State. Any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwith- 
standing. 

— Laws 1812, dm p. LXX, p. 26. 



83 



3. TREASURY RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES. 

:^[ov 1, 1811, to Oct. 31, 1812. 

All Public Taxes £25,889 19s. 2d. 

Dividends Bank of jS^ewbern and 

Bank of Cape Fear 2,500 

Loan from Banks 12,500 

Balance from 1810 14,404 7s. lid. 

Total 55,294 7s. 2d. 

Total Disbursements £26,203 18s. 6d. 

— See House Journal, 1812, p. 27. 



84 



1813 

1. MILES BENTON'S FREE SCHOOL 

2. THE WAYNE COUNTY FREE SCHOOL 

3. FAYETTEVILLE ORPHAN ASYLUM. 



85 



1. MILES BENTOJV'S FREE SCHOOL. 

Lan,isi„stby Satiirtlav, Novefoiber 27, 1813. The committee of 

Propositions and Grievances, to whom was referred the 
petition of John T. Benton, of Gates County, stating that 
by the last will and testament of Miles Benton, the Testa- 
tor devised a certain plantation and tract of land for the 
support of a Free School, together with the rents and 
profits of four acres of land. That a law suit was insti- 
tuted, and a recovery had of the plantation and tract of 
laud above mentioned ; and that only the four acres as 
aforesaid remains to the use intended by the testator ; and 
the petitioner being Heir at Law of the said deceased, he 
prays that the four acres aforesaid vested in Him, Report, 
That your committee are of opinion that to legislate upon 
principles affecting the will of the testator would be an 
interference highly improper, therefore recommend that 
the petition be rejected. Submitted. 

A. Philips, Chairman. 

— Senate Journal, ISIS, p. 12. 

Miles Benton's 111 the UaiUC of God, aUlCU. 

will. 

I Miles Benton of Gates County and State of Xorth 

Carolina being of a sound and well disposing mind and 

memory do make constitute and ordain this my last will 

and Testament in manner and form following Viz — 

Imprimis I leave to my loving wife I^ansey Benton the 

use of one third part of my land and plantation whereon 

I now live during her natural life and after her death to 

bo disposed of as hereafter mentioned. Also I give and 

bequeath to my said wife one feather bed and furniture 

with walnut bedsted and curtain belonging to the same, 

also two chests one a pine and the other a cypress one, 

also one small walnut dressing table and dressing glass, 

also two large looking glasses, also one small tniuk to her 

and her heirs forever. 

86 



Bentotst's Free Scpiool^ 1813. 87 

Item, I give aud bequeath to Jolni Tatain alias Benton 
the other two thirds of my land and plantation whereon I 
now live and after the death of my wife the other third 
to him his heirs forever. 

Item I leave to my brother Josiah Benton the nse of my 
land and plantation whereon he now lives during his life 
and after his death it is my will and desire that the said 
land be equally divided between my two nephews, Jethro 
Benton and Henry Benton — to them and their heirs for- 
ever. Item I give and bequeath to John Tatem alias 
Benton the land and plantation whereon John Sanders 
lived, with as much land joining thereto as will inake fifty 
acres of the whole to him his heirs and assigns forever. 
Item, It is my will and desire that the balance of land 
wherein those fifty acres are given to John Tatem alias 
Benton are taken out of, be equally divided between my 
two nephews, Jethro and Henry Benton's to them their 
heirs and assigns forever. Item, It is my will and desire ,, , . 

^ ' J ( ertain properly to 

that my land and plantation I purchased of Luke Sum- c'|e*is u^erffor'a 
ner be sold by my executors on a credit of twelve months, ^^^ ^^ °° ' 
and the money ariseing therefrom to be let at interest and 
the interest ariseing from the principal be applied to build- 
ing a school house and hireing of a teacher for the purpose 
of a free school, and that said school house to be built 
within two raik s of the place where I now reside, and all 
children with [in] four miles of my place of residence be 
permitted to be taught in said school, — It is my desire that Management of the 

, . . . m • ^ n • T !• school. 

rne court appoint commissioners to Superintend said free 

school from year to year during tiine^ — Item, I give and 

bequeath to my sister-in-law Elizabeth Benton, wife of 

Josiah Benton, one negro girl named Clarkey to be at her 

ov^l disposal. Item, I give and bequeath to my friend other provisions. 

Kedar Ballard my riding horse Adams — to him his heirs 

and assigns forever. Item, It is my will and desire that 

all my personal estate of all kinds (excepting negroes) be 

cold and the money arising therefrom go towards paying 

my just debts, and if there should not be monev sufficient 



88 Benton's Free School^ 1813. 

to discharge my just debts, it is my will that my executors 
sell as many of my negroes discresionally as will be suffi- 
cient to satisfy all my just debts. Item, I give and be- 
queath to my loving wife Xansey Benton one third part of 
all my negroes after my debts are paid — to her her heirs 
and assigns forever. Item It is my will and desire that 
the other two thirds of my negroes not already given, be 
eijually divided betwetn flohn Tatem alias Benton — Luekey 
Benton Elizal)eth L. J3enton, — Patsey H. Benton, Jethro 
Benton — Henry Benton and ]Mary Benton, wife of Mills 
Benton all share and share alike to them their heirs and 
assigns forever. Item It is my will and desire that my 
house at the cross road meeting liouse with two acres of 
land on each side of the road leading to Edenton, ad- 
joining the cross road leading to the creek be leased or 
rented as my executors think proper, and the money arise- 
ing therefrom be appropriated to the same ])urposes as the 
money arising from the sale of the land I purchased of 
Luke Sumner and continue for the same term. Item I 
give and bequeath to my sister in law Elizabeth Benton 
widow of Jethro Benton dec'd ten dollars per year out of a 
lease rent from William Benton for ten years, to her, lier 
heirs and assigns forever. Item — all the rest and residue of 
my estate of what kind soever I leave to be divided as fol- 
lows, one third part to my loving wife Xancy Benton and 
the other two thirds to be divided between the tAVO sons of 
Josiah Benton, John Tatem alias Benton, and the three 
daughters of Jethro Benton dec'd, all share and share 
alike. Lastly I nominate and appoint my friends Kedar 
I->allard and Thomas Parker to be my executors to this 
my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have 
hereunto set my hand and seal this 27th day of June, LS0.5, 
Signed — Sealed, published and declared by the testator to 
lie his last will and testament in presence of Jos. Jr. 
Sumner James Knight — Jacob Benton. 

Miles Bextox (Seal.) 

[The above will Avas probated at Xovember County 
Court 1805.] 



2. THE WAYNE COUNTY FREE SCHOOL. 

All Act to establish a Free School in the eouuty of 
Wayne. 

That Silas Hollowtll, John Davis, Xicholsoii Washing- Trustees appointed, 
ton, liobert G. Greene, John Hooks, Sampson Lane, Cul 
Itii Jiiaekiuaii, Jesse Sloeiimbe, Laurence Wood, liubert 
Collier, and Barnabas JMcKinnie, shall be and they are 
hereby declared a body politic and corporate to be known corporate powers, 
and distinguished by the name of the Trustees of the Tree 
School of the county of Wayne, and by the name afore- 
said they shall have perpetual succession and a common 
seal, and they or a majority of them shall be able and 
capable in law to take, demand, receive, and possess all 
money, goods and chattels that shall be given them from 
charitable motives for the use of said Free School, and 
the same to apply according to the will of the donor, an<l 
by gift, purchase or devise, shall have, receive and retain 
to them and their successors forever, any lands, rents, 
tenements or hereditaments of what kind or nature the 
same may be in special trust and conh deuce, that the same 
or the profit thereof or all be applied for the purpose of 
establishing and endowing the said Free School. 

II. That the said Trustees or a majority of them, shall oovernmeiu ami 
determine on the place for establishing the said F'l'ee .school. 
School, and adojit such rules and regulations for erecting 

the buildings and for the government of said Free School, 
and particularly for the preservation of religion, order 
and good morals therein as a majority of the said Com- 
missioners or Trustees may desire for that purpose, and 
they are hereby declared to possess the same powers which 
the Trustees of any other seminary of learning within this 
State have or may possess or enjoy. Provided, the same 
are not contrary to the Constitution of this State or the 
United States. 

III. That upon the death, resignation, removal oi „ 

^ ' J-' ' How vacaneie.s arc 

on to be filled. 



90 Way]\"e County Fkee School, IS 13. 

refusal to act of auy of the said Trustees, it shall be law- 
ful for the remaining Trustees or a majority of them to 
appoint others to act in their room, and when so elected 
they shall have the same powers as those appointed by this 
act. 
Funds to be raised jy jliat the Said Trustees or a maioritv of them ar-.- 

by lottery. •> 

hereby authorized to I'aise by lottery a sum not exceeding 
two thousand dollars, by such scheme or schemes as they 
may think ]iroper to devise, and the same shall be applied 
solely and exclusively to the use and benefit of the said 
Free Schoe)l in such manner as may be by them pre- 
scribed. 

Y. That the said Trustees shall enter into bond pay- 
able to the Chairman of the county court of Wayne for the 
time being, and his successors for the faithful perform- 
jnice of the eluties of their appointment\ 

—Lairs ISIS, chap. XXY , p. 17. 



' This school was never established, it seems. There is no existing 
record of its estaljlishment that can he found. 



3. FAYETTEVILLE ORPHAN ASYLUM. 



An Act to incorporate the Female Orphan Asylum So- |^SJf/on«or 
ciety of Fayetteville. 

I. That the individiiais who are at present associated 
in the town of Fayetteville for the education of poor 
children, under the name of the "Fayetteville Orphan 
Asylum," and those who may hereafter become members 
of the said association agreeably to the rules which may 

be therein established, he and the same are hereby incor- corpm-ate powers 

^ eonterred. 

porated into body corporate and politic by the name of 
the 'Tayetteville Orphan Asylum." and as such shall have 
perpetual succession, may sue and be sued, be capable of 
acquiring and holding real and personal estate, have ability 
to make and ordain laws and regulations for their own 
government and. elect their own ofKcers, and generally to 
receive and perform all such matters and things as riglit- 
fully belonging to or are usually incident to bodies corpor- 
ate and politic within this State, any law, usage or custom 
to the contrary notwithstanding. And whereas it appears 
by representations made to the General Assembly, that it 
is the wish and intention of the said society to seek out as Parental care of 

" children. 

objects of their charity, children who are destitute of both 
parents and who would become chargeable to the county in 
which they reside, which said children they the said society 
intend to board, clothe and educate, and when properly 
qualified and of suitable ages, to have them bound out to 
suitable trades, whereby they may become useful numljcrs 
of society ; therefore, 

II. That the aforesaid society are hereby authorized to society may land 

ont children. 

take under their care and protection, by and with the con- 
sent of the Wardens of the Poor for Cumberland county, 
or any three of them, any such children who are destitute 
of both parents and who might become chargea]:)le to the 
county ; which said children they the said society shall be 

91 



92 Fayetteville Ohphak^ Asylum^ 1813. 

allowed to board, clothe, and educate, until the society con- 
ceive them properly qualified to bind out to proper trades 
or professions, and whenever said society conceive such 
children so qualified, they are liereby authorized, by and 
A\-itli the consent of the County Court of Cumberland, to 
bind out such children in the same manner as the County 
Courts have heretofore done. 

—Laws 1813, Chap. XLIT, p. 20. 



1814 

1. THE DIXON CHARITY FUND. 



93 



Notice of Alexan- 
der Dixon's death. 



Bequest of S12,000 
to education of 
poor children. 



1. THE DIXO> CHARITY FUND. 

Died, 
At liis residence in Duplin county, on the 22nd Mavcli 
last, Alexander Dixon, Esq. in the 69th year of his age. 
This gentleman liad no family. Some months previous 
to his death had made his Will, and after discharging three 
small legacies to three of his nephews, two of whom were 
his executors, and tlieir legacies intended only as com- 
pensation for tlieir services over and above what the Law 
would allow them for carrying the object of the will into 
effect, he devised the whole of his estate real and personal 
to be sold and the monies arising therefrom to create a 
fund for establishing a Charity School for the Education 
of poor Children in the county of Duplin. The Estate 
was clear of debt; and is ascertained by his Executors, 
after being settled, will raise a fund of upwards of $12^000 
for the object of this benevolent institution. — The Will 
was confirmed at the county court of Duplin in July last, 
much to the satisfaction of Col. William Dickson, his elder 
and sur^'iving brother. 

— Raleigh Begister, Aug. 5, 1814- 

Will of Alexander Dickson. 
(June 19, 1813.) 



All landed proj)- 
erty to be sold. 



IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN, I, Alexander Dick- 
son, of the county of Duplin, being infirm in Body, but of 
soui^d and perfect memory, blessed be God, do make and 
ordain this my last AVill and Testament in manner and 
form following, that is to say, 

IMPEIMTS. My will is, and so I direct, that all my 
just debts and personal expenses be first paid out of my 
estate by my Executors hereinafter named. It is mv 
will and desire that all my Lands be sold at Public Auction 

94 



Dixojsr Charity Fuis^d. 95 

by my executors, for the liig'hest price that may be got, in 
the following manner, that is to say, the Manor Plantation 
containing 300 acres bought of Joseph Dickson, deceased, 
The 213 acres adjoining the same bought of Austin Beas- 
ley, and 4 1-2 acres adjoining that, where the dead tree is, 
bought of Thomas McGee and 86 acres between his own 
and Joseph Brays lines, bought of said Bray, containing 
in the whole TIG 1-1 acres, which said parcels of land, as 
al)ove described, is to be sold all in one lott. Also 150 
acres on the West side of Maxw^ell Swan^p on the head of 
Jimmie's Branch bought of Abner Huggins, that to be 
sold in one lott. jilso 50 acres on the South side of the 
head of Branch, bought of Robert Dickson, de- 
ceased. Also 50 acres adjoining the same, at the East 
end and joining John ]\leGowan's line, Patented by my- 
self, the two above mentioned pieces to be sold in one lott. 
Also 300 acres, or thereabouts, below the cross roads and 
on both sides of the main road, adjoining and between 
Gabriel H. James, Robert Dickson and John Hunter's 
lines to be sold in one lott. Patented by myself. 

Item — I leave and bequeath to my nephew John Dick- Bequest to John 
son (son of my Brother Robert Dickson, of Cumberland 
County, Blockers Ferry) my young Is^egro Winch named 
Amy and her increase to him and his heirs forever. 

Item — I leave and bequeath to my nephew, Joseph Mc- Bequest to Joseph 
Go wan, my IsTegro Woman named Nancy and her increase " 
to him and his heirs forever. 

Item — I leave and bequeath to my ISTephew, Jones Dick- Bequest to Jones 
son. Five Hundred Dollars to be paid in ]Srotes, if so much 
in possession at the time of my death, if not, to be raised 
out of the sails of my estate and paid to him by my exe- 
cutors. 

The residue of my negroes is to be sold in the following Negroes to be sold ; 

1 • " r-vi IT 1 1 T-x 1 T ^ Other property also. 

manner, that is to say. Old Lucy and her Daughter Lucy 
and her son Frank and her increase hereafter to be sold 



96 



Dixon Charity Fund. 



Free school in 
Duplin. 



in one lott, and not separated. Also Kitt and the three 
youngest children that she may have at the time of my 
decease to be sold in one lott and not separated. Old 
Tarisman is to be well treated by my executors and not 
let want for anything. The Negroes not herein named are 
to be sold separate to the highest bidder. The remaining 
part of my estate, consisting of Horses, 'Jattle, Hoggs and 
Sheep, Household and Kitchen furniture and Plantation 
Tools of every description and Kinds of Crop and Pro- 
duce are to be sold in the same way as my other Property. 
The money arising from the said sales are to be collected 
by my executors when due as soon as may be. Should 
there be any money. Bonds or Notes, or accounts on hand 
at the time of my decease, my executors are to account for 
them and after paying out all expenditures that may have 
accrued heretofore, or may hereafter accrue, the neete 
proceeds are then to be kept and put by my executors to 
the use of a Free School or Schools for the Benefit of the 
Poor of Duplin County. 

Lastly. I hereby nominate and appoint my Nephew, 
John Dickson, son of my Brother Robert Dickson, de- 
ceased, living at Blockers Ferry, Cumberland County, and 
also my Nephew, Joseph McGowan, of Duplin County, 
son of William McGowan, deceased, my whole and sole 
executors of this my last Will and Testament. In Wit- 
ness Whereof I the said Alexander Dickson, have hereunto 
set his hand and seal this nineteenth day of June Eighteen 
hundred and thirteen. 

Alexander Dickson. (Seal) 

Signed, sealed and delivered by the Testator to be his 
last Will and Testament, who hath in our presence signed 
the same and we at his request have signed the same as 
witnesses thereto. 

Stephen Graham. 
William Mallard. 



Dixon Charity Fund. 97 

State of North Carolina — Duplin County. 

July Term of the County Court of Please and Ci^uarter 
Sessions for said County of Duplin. 

The within Will was Exhibited into Court and after Probate, 
being duly debated and discussed was admitted to probate 
and Record. And was duly proved in open Court by the 
oaths of Stephen Graham and William Mallard the sub- 
scribing witnesses tliereto. 

And at the same time John Dickson and Joseph Mc- 
Gowan the Executors named in the said will came before 
the Court and Qualified as Executors thereto according 
to law. 

Ordered that letters issue accordingly. 

Test. Wm. Dickson^ C. C. 

Across the back of said Will is the following endorse- Endorsement, 
ment : 

Alexander Dickson's 

Will 

Proved and Recorded 

July Term, 1814. 

On the 21-th of January, 1817, the executors reported y^j^^^ ^j. ^^^^^^ ^g^^ 
a settlement of the estate, showing a net balance on hand 
of $12,621.49. This fund has always been known as the 
"Dickson Charity Fund," and until after the Civil War 
was managed and controlled by the Clerk and Master in 
Equity and the income applied in various ways for edu- 
cational purposes. In recent years it has been managed 
by the Board of County Commissioners, and the income 
applied to the ]3ublic school fund. But through years pund mismanaged 
of mismanagement and ill-directed investments, it has 
almost come to naught, and, like most bequests of this kind, 
has not served the high purpose for which it was intended 
by the donor. 

— From Carr's Diclson Letters, MS. of Revised Edi- 
tion. 

7 97 



Control of fund uii - 
til after civil war. 



98 Dixon Chaeity Fund. 

PiiESENT Income Dickson Fund. 

The County Treasurer of • Duplin County for the year 
1904-05, reported that he received $140.88 interest from 
the Dickson Fund. For the year 1905-06, he reported 
$140.89 from the same source. 

— From MS. Records^ Office State Superintendent. 



1815 

1. GOV. MILLER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 



99 



1. GOV. MILLER'S MESSAGE OJf EDUCATION. 

Class distinction Knowledge and virtue are the ereat supporters of free 

ou^ht to be ~ o rr 

avoided. governments. In a country like ours, nothing should be 

more carefully guarded against, than the establishment of 
anything like different orders in society. AVhen the 
sources of information are confined to a few, it may have 
a tendency to introduce into society an order of men, who, 
valuing themselves upon their superior acquirements, are 
too apt to look upon those, who have been less fortunate, 
with a degree of supercillious contempt. They may be 
too apt to imbibe the idea, that the people were made for 
them and not they for the people. 
Plan ought to be I^ is Under the hand of Legislative patronage alone, 
every member of that the temple of scicncc can be thrown open to all; and 

society. . . -, . , . 

it seems to me well worth the consideration ol the Legis- 
lature, if some plan can not be devised by which every 
member of the community, no matter how circumscribed 
his situation, may have an opportunity of experiencing the 
benefits of education. 
All can not be edu- The progress which has been made of late in the estab- 

cated except by . . « , , . . , . 

public patronage, lishmcnt 01 Seminaries for the education of youth evinces 
a spirit of genius in the people of this State for literary 
acquirements. But so long as these establishments are 
left to depend for support upon the individual exertion 
their beneficial effects must necessarily be partial. It is 
under the fostering hand of legislative patronage alone that 
the temple of science can be thrown open to all. 

— House Journal, 1815. 



100 



2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION*. 

House Committee^ on "Seminaries of Learning" : House committee. 
Frederick Xash, Orang-e, and Simmons J. Baker, Martin. 

— House Journal, 1815. 

Senate Committee^ on "Seminaries of Learning" : senate committee. 
James McKay, Bladen, 

■ — Senate Journal^ 1S15. 



' This was a joint committee of both houses of the Assembly. The 
committee made no report. This was the first Assembly committee 
on education ever appointed. 



101 



1. GOV. MILLER'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

3. MURPHEY'S REPORT. 

4. GOV. MILLER ON EMIGRATION. 

5. LOTTERY FOR FAYETTEVILLE ACADEMY REFUSED. 

6. THE GRIFFIN FREE SCHOOL 1816-1840. 



102 



1. GOY. WILLIAM MILLEE'S MESSAGE OIV EDUCATION. 

Tiie subject of educatiooi has always been one of pri- J'i|^e\™°er f "men'^* 
mary importance, with all governments established for the sfaves'^"^*^*^ ^™ 
benefit of the great body of people. Men intended for 
slaves the more ignorant the better. But, if for freedom, 
they ought, of course, to be enlightened. If the wealthy 
alone be admitted into the temple of science, the most 
dangerous species of aristocracy may be apprehended, 
from the union of two such powerful agents, as wealth and 
talents. 

A plan by which the means of obtaining some portion Fund for advance- 

<=> ^ ment of literature 

of education may be afforded to every one, however indi- proposed. 
gent is, without doubt, practicable. The example set in a 
neighboring state, in establishing funds for the advance- 
ment of literature and internal improvements, seems well 
worthy of imitation. 

— House Journal, 1816. 



103 



2. ASSE3IBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

Senate committee. Nov. 22, 181C. liesolved That SO niuch of the said 
message, as relates to the subject of Public Instruction, 
be referred to a select joint committee^ And on the part 
of the Senate Mr. Murphey and Mr. Hinton are ap- 
pointed". 

— Soiafc Journal, 1816-17. 



House committee. 



NoA'. 24, 1816. House Committee on Public Instruc- 
tion : Frederick I^ash, Orange ; Thomas Settle, Rocking- 
ham ; William Drew, Halifax town ; Samuel King, Iredell. 

— House .Journal, 1816-11, p. 8. 



' Resolution was introduced by A. D. Murphey, Orange. 
'^ A. D. Murphey, Orange, and Jolin Hinton, Jr , Walie. 



104 



3. MUEPHEY'S REPORT. 

Dee. 10, 1S16. — The coiniiiiltee to whom was referred 
so much of the message of His Exeellency the Governor as 
relates to the subject of Public Instruction, report : 

That after forty years of succssful experiment, the most The united states 

'' "^ '- has had forty years 

sceptical can not doubt the excellence of the system of ^!rj^m^nf' "' '"'"^' 
government which we have adopted. Suited to our geo- 
gra])hical situation, to our genius for commercial enter- 
prise, and to our opinions of civil liberty, it has carried 
us in triumph through the perils of a revolution at a 
time when it wanted the federative strength wdiich it now 
possesses ; and in a late war has exacted the respect, if not 
the admiration, of distant nations. The national charac- 
ter has given force to the operations of the government, 
and has exhibited both the splendid virtues which adorn 
a nation and the more humble virtues wdiich ornament 
private life. It is the government of our choice, and 
that of our forefathers, who established it. The inheri- xhisiuheritanee 

should be handed 

tance is precious : and, "whilst w^e cherish it with all the down to our ehu- 

J- ' ' dren unimpaired. 

feelings of an ardent patriotism, let us in prudence seek 
to give to it improvement and duration, that our children 
may receive it from us unimpaired, but rendered more rich 
by the culture which we shall bestow ujion it. 

A republic is bottomed upon the virtue of her citizens; n is knowledge 

^ ... . only that liffhts the 

and that virtue consists in the faithful discharge of moral path of duty. 
and social duties and in obedience to the laws. But it is 
knowledge only, that lights u]:» the path of duty, unfolds 
the reasons of obedience and points out to man the pur- 
poses of his existence. In a government, therefore, which public virtue 
rests upon the public virtue, no efforts should be spared sion'of kuowiedge. 
to diffuse public instruction ; and the government which 
makes those efforts, finds a jnllar of support in the heart 
of every citizen. It is true that knowledge and virtue 
do not always go hand in hand ; that shining talents are 

105 



106 



Mukphey's Report, 1816. 



Men are virUioos 
in the degree they 
are enliKhtened. 



Wisdom gives exer- 
cise to the generous 
sensibilities. 



The great )K>ay of 
the iiiM)]ik' are the 
strength of the 
State. 



The State should 
afford to all the 
opportunity to 
learn their rights 
and duties. 



This requires a 
system of public 
education. 



The system adopt- 
ed should make 
provision for all 
classes. 



sometimes united with a corrupt heart, but such cases only 
form exceptions to a general rule. In all ages and in 
all countries, the great body of the people have been found 
to be virtuous in the degree in which they have been en- 
lightened. There is a gentleness in wisdom, which softens 
the angry passions of the soul, and gives exercise to its 
generous sensibilities. And there is a contentment which 
it brings to our aid : humility in times of prosperity, forti- 
tude in the hour of adversity, and resignation in affliction. 
True wisdom teaches men to be good rather than great; 
and a wise providence has ordered that its influence should 
be most felt where it is most needed, among the great 
body of the people, who, constituting the strength of the 
State, have no other ambition tlian to see their country 
prosper and their wives and children and friends happy. 
To the several classes who compose this great body, the 
attention of the government should be particularly direct- 
ed ; to teach them their duties and enable them to under- 
stand their rights. The frightful examples of a few indi- 
viduals who are led astray by the temptations of vice or the 
seductions of pleasure, will not deter the State from doing 
its duty. She will extend her maternal care to all her 
children. She will endeavor to reclaim the vicious, to 
strengthen the wavering, to reward those who do well, and 
afford to all the apportunities of learning their duties and 
their rights. 

To effect this benevolent purpose, a judicious system of 
public education must be established. Few subjects pre- 
sent more serious difiiculties, none is of more vital im- 
portance. To frame a system which shall suit the condi- 
tion of our country and the genius of its government, 
which shall develop the faculties of the mind and improve 
the good dispositions of the heart ; which shall embrace in 
its views the rich and the poor, the dull and the sprightly 
is a work of great magiiitude and requires details to give 
it efficacy, which the little time allowed to your commit- 



Murphey's Report, 1816. 107 

tee will not permit them tO' attempt. They will, however, Details should be 

, . , . 11-1 1 worked out bv a 

s'lve their general views upon the subiect and recommend committee and re- 

° . ". "* _ . . ported to next 

to the Legislature to appoint men to fill up the outlines Assembly, 
in detail and make report to the next General Assembly. 

Your committee feel proud to look hack and review Few states have 

■I ry I'll 1 1 • -X- 1 /I T T c sxcelled North 

tne ettorts wnicn nave been made in jNortJi Larolma to dii- Carolina in exam- 
pies of private 
fuse public instruction. Few states have afforded such 'lonations to edu- 

^ cation. 

examples of private munificence for this purpose. x\nd 
the Legislature has lent its fostering care, by establishing 
an University and endowing it with f imds. But your private effort has 

, , , 111 '^ot been entirely 

committee regret that such success has not attended these successful. 

benevolent efforts of their fellow citizens as they stem 

to have merited ; and they entertain the fear that no better 

success will hereafter attend them, until a general system a senerai system 

of iDublic education shall be established and enforced bv should include 

" schools from pri- 

the Legislature. This general system must include a mary to the 

o & .; highest. 

gradation of schools regularly supporting each other, from 
the one in which the first rudiments of education are taught 
to that in which the highest branches of the sciences are 
cultivated. It is to the first schools in this 2:radation that The primary 

^ , , ^ . , schools in which 

your committee beg leave to draw the attention of the readim,', writing 

^ _ and arithmetic are 

Legislature at this time, because in them v/ill be tauaht the ciught must be 

o 7 S scattered over the 

leai'ning indispensable to all — reading, writing and arith- '^^''^^'^■ 
metic. These schools must be scattered over every sec- 
tion of the. State, for in them education must be com- 
menced and there it will terminate as to more than one- 
half of the community. 

These schools will be the most difficult in th; ir oro;aiii- Primary schools 

^ most expensive and 

zation, and the most expensive to the State ; but they will difficult to organ- 

■■■ " "^ ize, while they are 

be the most useful, inasmuch as all the children of the '^"^ "^"""^ ^*''''^- 
State will be taught in them, and many of these children 
are destined never to be taught in any other. Here their 
education will commence and have its end. With the 
learning which they here acquire, they will pass into 
active life and take rank with their fellow citizens. It is 
important therefore that in these schools the precepts of 



108 Muephey's Eepoet, 1816. 

Morality and reii- morality and religion should be inculcated, and habits of 

gion highly impor- , , _ 

taut- ■ subordination and obedience formed. One of the greatest 

blessings which the State can confer upon her children 
is to instill into their minds at an earlv period moral and 
religious truths. Depraved must be tlie heart that does 
not feel their influence throughout life. It is a subject of 

Early education of deep regret that at this time in North Carolina the earb- 

children now left x o „ 

to chance. education of youth is left in a great uieasure to chance 

Thousands of Thousauds of Unfortunate children are growing up in 

children growing <■ , • x- ^i • n it- t ^• 

upinpertect periect igiiorauce ol their moral and religious duties. 

ignorance. . . 

Their parents equally unfortunate know not how to in- 
struct them, and ha^'e not the opportunity or ability of 
placing them under the care of those who could give them 
The state should instruction. The State, in the warmth of her affection 
unfortunates. and solicitudo foT their welfare, must take charge of those 
children and place them in schools where their minds can 
be enlightened and their hearts can be Trained to virtue. 
Children of the There is aiiotlier class of unfortunate children who are 

nate often attain objccts of aiixious solicitudc. Tlicsc are the children of 

wealth and honors. i r- • n ... 

the poor, whose parents, bereft of the comforts of life, are 
rendered doubly wretched by seeing their children bereft 
of the opportunities of education. How often among 
these children do we not see the most promising genius ? 
And how often has not this genius been seen to burst the 
fetters which enchained it to the bed of poverty and tower- 
ed its way to wealth and honours ? Genius delights to toil 
with difSculties : they discipline its powers and animate 
Many whose vir- ^^^ courage. Hcuce it lias happened that many whose 
humanity 'wer™*^*^ elevatiou has been prominent and whose virtues have 
ipove y. adorned humanity have been born in the lap of j)overty. 
The state should "^^^^ State uiust take into her bosom these poor children, 
alid MiucateVhese a^d feed and clothe and educate them at the ])nbiic (x- 

poor children, ci i r n • i- c • i i 

transferring the pcuso. Such ot them as givc proois of gcuius aud hopes 

higher schools. of future uscfulncss should be transferred to schools of 

higher grade, and eventually brought forward into active 

life under the public patronage. Among these youth? a\ ho 



Muuphey's Eepoet, lbl6, 109 

shall thus be educated at the public expense, the State 

will hud her most useful citizens. Their devotion to hev 

interests will be unbounded ; her attachment to them will 

be unlimited. From these teachers may be selected for Tims the state 

the schools i]\ which they are qualified to teach ; and, as teafhers. 

they have been educated at the public expense because they 

were poor, they ]nust in return teach gratuitously the poor 

children placed under their care. And, to stimulate them 

to honest and active exertions, let those who shall faithfully 

discharge their duty in teaching for the time required of 

them, be rewarded for their fidelity by being advanced into 

higher schools and instructed in the sciences at the public 

expense. 

Discreet persons must be appointed in each county to Discreet persons 

" should be appoint- 

superintend and manage the concerns of the sectional ^^ in each county 

•■- '^ to manage the 

schools which shall be established, and to designate the leverii ^a\kl. 
children who shall be educated in j)art or in the whole at 
the public expense. The application of the funds which 
shall be consecrated to the purposes of tliese schools shall 
be made by them. 

There yet remains one class of unfortunate human Deaf and dumb 

. . should be ed u- 

bemgs who have peculiar claims upon our humanity and cated. 
who must not be overlooked in a plan of public instruction. 
These are the deaf and the dumb. There is a language 
of nature, expressed by the countenance, which all un- 
derstand. This is the language of feeling, and, being the 
only one knoA\Ti to the deaf and dumb, is by them spoken 
Avith peculiar eloquence. But the artificial langaiage neces- , 
sary to the acquaintance of abstract ideas and to the de- 
velopment of the intellectual faculties remained unknown 
to this part of our species, until lately, when Providence 
in its goodness vouchsafed to discover to the Ahbe de Cr. 
Epee the method of applying signs scientifically to their 
instruction. And at this day they can be taught language 
and instructed in religion, morals and the sciences about 



110 ' Murphey's Eeport, 1816. 

Connecticut first to as easilj as those who can hear and speak. Connecticut 

provide for the i i i i i- i t i • ^ n ^ c i 

education of the has had the honoi* 01 estabhshmg the hrst asvium lor the 

deaf and dumlj. _ . "^ 

deaf and the dumb upon this Continent. And Messrs. 
Gallaudet and Clerc who have been the active ministers 
of humanity in founding this asylum deserve the thanks 
of tlie human race. The number of the deaf and dumb in 
North Carolina is not great, but, small as it is, it claims 
the humane attentions of the government. 
Our highest duty When we shall commence this great work of national 

to our fellow-beings ° 

will be discharged charity, of establishing schools for public instruction in 

when we place V J o r 

th"'m°ans o/ediv every scctiou of the State, and educating at the public ex- 
pense those to whom poverty has denied the means of 
educating themselves, may we not hope that a benevolent 
God will smile upon our labours and cause them to pros- 
per ? We shall have discharged the highest duty which wfi 
owe to our fellow-beings, when we shall place within their 
power the means of learning those things which belong to 
their temporal and everlasting peace. 

Now possible to ap- To carry into effect any General System of Public In- 

propriate »500,000 . i • i -r-> 

to carry on a gen- structiou much expcnsc must DC mcurrcd. But your corn- 

eral system of _ . 

education. mittee rejoico that the state of our finances will shortly 

put it in the power of the Legislature to appropriate nearly 
half a million dollars to this purpose, and yet not withhold 
the appropriations which shall be necessary to complete 
the system of Internal Improvements now under considera- 
tion. Your committee would gladly exhibit views of our 
finances to prove that this would be the result, but that 
duty more properly belongs to the committee who have the 
subject of the public revenue under consideration. 

Your committee forbear to attempt the details which 
will be necessary to give effect to the system of education 
Avhich they recommend to the consideration of the Legisla- 

Detaiisofthepian ture. Much time and much deliberation will be required 

of education to be 

reported later. to mature them and your committee recommend to the two 
Houses «to adopt the following resolution : 



Mukpiiey's Report, 1S16. Ill 

Committee on Public Instruction. 
Resolved, That the speakers of the two Houses of the committee to re- 

. port to next As- 

(ieneral Assembly appoint three persons, to digest a system sembiy. 
of public instruction founded upon the general principles 
of the foregoing report, and submit the same to the con- 
sideration of the next General Assembly/ 
Respectfully submitted, 

A. D. MuRPHEY, Chairman. 

Dec. 19, 1816: In Senate Deer. 19th 1816 Read and 
resolved that this House do concur therewith. 

John Branch Sp. S. 

— Senate JouvtulI, 1816. 

In House of Commons 21 Deer. 1816 Read and re- 
solved that this House do concur therewith. 

Jas. Iredell S. H. C. 



No record as to who was appointed on this committee. 



4. U{)\. WMAAXyi MILLKH (►> KMKiUATlON. 

oni- vv< 'ducts -.. 'I'lii' Shilc of Xorlli CaroliiKK llmu^h not so highly 

to swoU oxiK)rts dt' ,■ 1 1- 1 • 1 i ^ 

two sister states. ijwofod as soiiu' oi lii'i' sistev t^hitos. Jias vc't many ad- 
vantaiivs, which if properly improved, avouUI give her that 
stand in the nnitm. to \vliieli her popuhition and extent of 
teri'ilory so I'lniiienl ly entitle her. * * * Situated as 
she now is, a great pari ot her })roduee goes to swell the 
amount ot' the e\|toris of the two adjoining States. To 
pre\ent this. State [tride as well as interest shonld prompt 
SYsteni.'fiiiuniiii ^'=^ f*^ ''^'-' ^'viM'v exei'tii>n. Let her rivers be made navi- 
iioccssaiy to iiw gaule, and it prael ieal>le Iter outlets lo tlie oecan opened, 

North (^'aroliiia ^ , . i i i i i • i 

tvotn couinunriai and eri' lonii', we sliould liave her aii'rieultnre improving, 

(lopoiuU'iK (.' anil to "- _ _ ^ 

pvovout oinigva- jn^.j. commercial towns rising to importance, the valne of 
her land increasing, and lier people, instead of seeking new 
eoniitries, contented to remain at home and t-ultivate the 
soil that gave them hirth. Instead, then, of only eon- 
trilniting to tlie wealth and aggrandisement of others, we 
should be enabled to nuinage our owai commercial concerns, 
and to free ourselves from a degrading species of depend- 
ence upon the citizens of other States. 

— Fro))) Go)-c)-i)Oi-'!< Message, IIo)ise .1 oiD-nal . ISIG. 



112 



:,. LOTXEKY FOK FAYETTEVILLE ACADEMY liEFLSED. 

A Bill to authorize the Trustees of Fayetteville to rai'se 
by way of Lottery a .sum of money for the use of said 
school. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Fayetteviiie Acad- 

<,-iny authoriwid 

Xorth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority to rai.'^<- S5.'>jo 
of the same, That the Trustees of the Fayetteville Academy 
be and they are hereby authorized to rai~e by way of one 
or more lotteries the sum of five thousand dollars for the 
use and benefit of said Academy. 

And be it further enacted, That before the Trusteees 
/'.foresaid shall proceed to use and dispose of any tickets 
in the Lottery hereby authorized, they shall give bond ii: Tru-stt-eH to ^ve 
the sum of Five Thousand Dollars payable to the Commis- 
sioners of the TowTi of Fayetteville for the fair conducting 
of said Lottery or Lotteries, which bond may be put in 
suit without assignment for the benefit of any person in- 
jured by the misconduct of said Trustees. 

In House of Commons Dec. 24, 1816 : Eead and In- h-aj^^j. 
definitely Postponed. 

— Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1816. 



113 



6. THE GBinilV FREE SCHOOL— 1816-1840. 

GKIFFIN VS. GEAHAM AND OTHERS— FROM 
JOHls'STOK 

IN EQUITY. 

Moses Griffin.'" made his will, coutainiug the following 
devises and bequests: "I. appoint E, G., W. G., &c., trus- 
tees of mj estate, and executors of my will — I give the 
remainder of my estate" (after certain legacies and pay- 
ment of his debts) "to my said trustees and executors, 
in trust, to be managed by them to the best advantage for 
the purpose hereinafter mentioned. I desire my landed 
proj)erty shall not be sold, but rented out to the best ad- 
vantage. I desire that my trustees and executors, out of 
the issues and profits of my estate, real and personal, shall 
purchase two acres of ground in Newbem, and as soon as 
the funds arising from the profits of my estate be deemed 
by them sufficient to make a commencement, that a brick 
house shall be erected on said land, suitable for a school 
room, and finished in a plain manner, fit for the accom- 
modation of indigent scholars, and be called 'Griffin's Free 
School.' And it is my desire, that as soon as the house is 
finished, and the funds arising from the profits of my 
estate will admit, a proper schoolmaster shall be employed 
to teach and educate therein, as many orphan children, or 
the children of poor and indigent parents, who, in the 
judgment of my trustees are best entitle to the donation, as 
the funds are equal to — and it is my wish to clothe and 
maintain the indigent scholars as well as school them ; and 
when they shall a rive at the age of fourteen, it is my de- 
sire that my executors bind them out to suitable occupa- 
tions. And to prevent misconception, my meaning is, that 
the amount of my estate, real and personal, be considered 
as a principal sum, and remain undiminished forever ; and 



* Died in 1816. 114 



The Gkiefix Free School. 115 

that the issues and profits only shall be ap]3ropriatecl to 
the support of the said free school. x\nd it is my desire, 
that all interest arising from money, shall be put out at in- 
terest again, and be deemed principal, and continue at 
interest until, by my executors, it shall be deemed suffi- 
cient to put the institution in operation." 

The heirs at law and next of kin, filed this bill against 
the executors and trustees, praying to have the trusts de- 
clared void, and that the Defendants might be declared 
the trustees for them and for an account. 

Held by a majority of this Court, that the Statute of 
the 43d of Elizabeth, c. 4, is in force in this State, and 
that the Court of Equity, by virtue of it, has jurisdiction 
of all charities. 

Held also, that independent of that statute, and though ' 
the jurisdiction of charities in England belong to the Court 
of Chancery, not as a Court of Equity, but as administer- 
ing the prerogative of the Crown, the Court of Equity of 
this State hath the like juriediction : for, upon the revolu- 
tion, the political rights and duties of the King devolved 
upon lhe people in their sovereign capacity; and they, by 
their representatives, have placed this power in the Courts 
of Equity, by the acts of Assembly of 1778, c. 5, and 
1782, c. 11. 

But if this were not so: it is further lield, that as there 
are trustees and a trust for a definite charity, and a speci- 
fic object pointed out, the Court would, as a mere matter 
of trust, take cognizance in this case, by virtue of its ordi- 
nary jurisdiction as a Court of Equity. 

Held aho, that, if the Court of Equity had no juris- 
diction of charities, as such, nor of a trust relating to them, 
and could not, upon a bill by the trustees or others estab- 
lisli the charity by decree, yet, inasmuch as the estate- of 
the tru;~tees is good at law, and the condition or the trust 
is certain and not unlawful, no trust results, in this case. 



116 The Griffin Free School. 

for the heir or next of kin : and theref(jre the bill is dis- 
missed. 

Held also, that this will doth not create a perpetuity; 
for the trustees have the power of alienation — and though 
notice to the purchaser might effect hiin in Equity, yet 
that, being a circumstance collateral to the power of selling, 
will not affect the question of perpetuity : and the clauses 
in the bill of rights and constitution, were desigTied only 
to jirevent dangerous accumulations of individual wealth, 
and referred to estates-tail alone: the establishment of 
a permanent fund for charitable uses does not come within 
the mischief, and is not prohibited by either of these 
clauses, nor by the common law. 

— North Carolina Reports, Hawks' Law and Equity, 
■ Jime Term 1S20, Vol XIII, pp. 96-97. 

CHAPTER LV. 

AjSt Act to Incorporate the Trustees of Griffin^s 
Free School. 

Whereas Moses Griffin, late of the town of ]^ewbern, by 
his will devised all the residue of his estate to Edward 
Graham, William Gaston, John Devereux, Francis Hawks, 
and John Oliver upon trust, that they should, out of the 
rents and profits of his estate, both real and personal, pur- 
chase two acres of land in some convenient and healthy 
place near the town of NeM^beni ; and as soon as the funds 
arising from the issues and profits of his said estate should 
be deemed by the said trustees sufficient, that they should 
erect a brick house one and a half stovy high upon the 
said two acres of land, which said house the said testator 
directed to be thirty feet long and twenty feet wide, and to 
have a large room suitably furnished for a school room 
laid off' on the first floor, the remainder of said house to 
be furnished in a plain manner fit for the accommodation 
of indigent scholars ; which house should be called Grif- 
fin's Free School. And whereas also the said testator 



The Griffin Free School. 117 

directed further that as soon after the erection of the said 
house, as the funds arising from the issues and profits of 
his estate, both real and personal should admit of, a school- 
luastc-r should be employed for the purpose of teaching and 
educating therein as many orphan children or the children 
of such poor and indigent persons as were unable to ac- 
complish it by their own means, and who in the judgTnent 
of the said trustees were best entitled to the benefit of said 
donation, as the funds might be found equal to ; with a 
further direction to the said trustees that the said poor 
and indigent children should be boarded, clothed and ap- 
prenticed from the rents and profits of his estate, when- 
ever the funds arising therefrom should be sufficient ; with 
a permission by the said testator that the schoolmaster 
who might be employed by his said trustees should receive 
from the parents and guardians of twenty-five scholars 
other than indigent ones, such tuition as he might make 
terms for. 

And whereas the said Edward Graliam and Francis 
Hawks have died since their said testator, and it is desir- 
able that the said trustees should have a perpetual suc- 
cession : Therefore, 

Be it enacted hy the Oeneral Assembly of the State of 
North (Jarolina o,nd it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same. That William Gaston, John Devereux, John 
Oliver, George S. Attmore, George Wilson, James C. Cole, 
John ]Sr. Roberts, John T. Lance and John JM. Bryan, be, 
and they are hereby constituted a body corporate and 
politic, by the name of the Trustees of Griffin's Free 
School; and shall have a perpetual succession and a com- 
mon seal; and be in law capable of suing and being sued, 
impleading or being impleaded, in all courts either of law 
or equity; and may take and receive from the said sur\nv- 
ing trustees, or the personal representatives of those who 
are dead, conveyances and assignments for all the lands, 



118 The Griffin Free ISchool. 

funds, stocks or cboses in action which they hokl from the 
sanl testator; and further may take and receive, either by 
gift or will, any personal estate, funds or choses in action 
wliich may be given to them for the use of the said school- 

II. And be it furlhar enacted. That upon the death or 
removal of any of tiie said trustees, or upon any of them 
refusing to act in the said trust, the vacancy thus created 
shall be tilled by the rtmaming trustees. 

III. .hid. be it juiiliir enacted, Thai live of the said 
trustees shall be a quorum, for the transaction of all busi- 
ness. 

IV. And. be it further enacted, That the said trustees 
may elect a secretary and treasurer, who shall give bond, 
satisfactory to the trustees, for the faithful discharge of 
his duties as secretary and treasurer, and who shall re- 
ceive such compensation as may be settled by the said 
trustees. 

And whereas it is represented that a suit in equity is 
now pending for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of 
the assets of the said Moses Griffin, which may be in the 
hands of John Devereux or John Oliver, survivors of his 
executors who proved the said will, or which may have 
come to the hands of Edward Graham or Francis Hawks : 

V. Be it further enacted. That when the accounts in 
the said suit have been taken and a final decree passed 
therein, it shall and may be lawful for the said surviving 
trustees, or the executors or administrators of those who are 
dead, to pay any balance in their hands to the secretary 
and treasurer of the corporation hereby created ; and the 
receipt of such secretary and treasurer shall be a final dis- 
charge to the said trustees or said executors or administra- 
tors for the amount thus paid : Provided always, and it 
is hereby declared, that the said will of the said Moses 
Griffin, as above recited shall be held and deemed to "oe the 
fundamental law of the said corporation : And provided 



The Griffin Free Scpiool. 119 

further, that this act shall not be in force unless the sur- 
viving executors and trustees of the said Moses Griffii' 
shall, within twelve calendar months after the passagt 
thereof, file in the office of the Secretary of the State their 
assent in writing to the same. 

— Laws of 1838-31)., chapter LV , pp. 54-55. 



181T 

1. GOV. MiLLER^S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

3. MURPHEY'S REPORT ON EDUCATION. 

4. WALKER'S REPORT ON EDUCATION. 

5. MURPHEY'S BILL TO DIFFUSE KNOWLEDGE. 

6. FEMALE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF WILMINGTON. 

7. LOTTERY FOR SMITHVILLE ACADEMY REFUSED. 



120 



1. GOV. MILLER S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

To enlighten the public mind in a free government, has Blessings of free 

sovernment 

ever been held the surest mode of i)eri:»etuatino; the bless- 'lep^i'^ent on 

^ ^ " education. 

ings of that government. In proportion as each individual 
in a community is informed, just in that proportion is he 
calculated to appreciate the benefits derived from the com- 
munity. To devise a plan by which instruction may be 
extensively diffused, occupied some portion of the atten- 
tion of the last Legislature ; and as the subject may again 
be submitted for consideration, it may not be unreason- Attention invited 
able for me thus to invite your attention to it in a parti- of a pianofpuuic 

instruction. 

cuuir manner. 

— House Journal. 1817. 



J 21 



2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES 0> EDUCATION. 

Senate committee. Tlie Senate Committee on Edncation: Thomas Wynns, 
Hertford; Archibald D. Mnrphey, Orange. 

— Senate Journal 1817-18, p. 8. 

House Qommittee. House Committee on Edncation: Alfred Moore, 
Brnnswidv ; David F. Caldwell, Iredell ; Hntchins G. Bur- 
ton, Halifax ; and Stephen L. Eerrand, Salisbury. 

— House Journal, 1817-18, 'p. IJf. 



122 



3. MIRPHEY'S KEPORT ON EDUCATION. 

Saturday, Xov. 2\), liSlT. — Mr. Murphey handed in the 
following report : 

The Committee to whom v/ere referred so much di 
the Message of his Excellency the Governor, as relates to 
public instruction, Report Tn Part : zeai for the public 

^ \\v\i\n\' lias taken 

That we have much reason to thank Providence for the poHt*i«iVstrifc"^ 
arrival of a period, wdien our country enjoying peace with 
foreign nations and free from domestic inquietude, turns 
her attention to improving her physical resources, and the 
moral and intellectual condition of her citizens. The war 
of party spirit which for twenty years has disturbed h.er 
tranquility and perverted her ambition, has terminated; 
and political strife has yielded its plac to an honorable 
zeal for the public welfare. Enlightened statesmen will 
avail themselves of this auspicious period to place the 
fortunes of the State upon a basis not to be shaken ; to 
found and cherish institutions which will guarantee to the 
people the permanence of their government, and enable sentiment now in 

i- ^ r o ' ^ favor of internal 

them to appreciate its excellence. The legislature of improvements and 

J- J^ <=• education. 

North Carolina, giving to their ambition an honorable 
direction, have resolved to improve this period for the best 
interests of the State ; to adopt and carry into effect liberal 
plans of internal improvements ; to give encouragement 
to literature, and to diffuse the lights of knowledge among 
all classes of the community. Let us foster the spiiit 
which has gone abroad ; it will lead to the happiest results. 
If we ourselves should not live to witness them, and of 
seeing our children receive from our hands a country grow- 
ing rich in physical resources, and advancing in moral and 
intellectual excellence. This is the true w^ay of giving 
strength and permanence to the government ; of giving to 
it roots in the hearts of the people, and nurturing it with u J^.^ r^oveniment 
their affections. What people will not love a government 'tCir happiness. 

123 



124 



Murphey's Report, 1817 



Committee have 
prepared a system 
of public instruc- 
tion for all, in 
schools, from 
highest to lowest. 



Ample funds and 
board (if adiiiini.s- 
trati( )n necessary. 



Outline of plan 
of instruction. 



whose constant solicitude is for their happiness, and whose 
ambition is to elevate their character in the scale of intelli- 
gent beings. Having commenced this great work of Hu- 
manity, Ifct us persevere in it with a patience that shall 
not tire, and with a zeal that shall not abate ; praying to the 
Father of all goud, that he will enlighten and direct our 
course and tinally crown our labors with success. 

Your committee have entered upon the duties assigned 
to them with a full conviction of their importance, and of 
the difficulties which attend their discharge. But believ- 
ing that let the subject be taken up when it may, those 
difficulties will exist, and availing themselves of the ligiit 
thrown upon the subject by the wisdom of others, the} 
have prepared a system of public instruction for North 
Carolina, which with much deference they beg leave to 
submit to the consideration of the General Assembly. In 
digesting this system they have adhered to the general 
principles of the report on this subject, submitted by the 
committee to the last Legislature, and have embraced a 
provision for the poor as well as the rich, and a gradation 
of schools from the lowest to the highest. 

To give effect to any plan of general education, it is 
essentially necessary that ample funds be provided, and 
that these funds and also the execution of the general plan, 
be committed to the care and direction of a board com- 
posed of intelligent and efficient men. Your committee 
reserve for a- more special report their views with respect 
to the creation of a fund for public instruction. This 
subject requires a minuteness of detail, which would only 
embarrass the general views which it is now their object 
to present to the consideration of the General Assembly. 

Your committee have considered the subject referred to 
them under the following divisions: 

1. The creation of a fund for Public Instruction. 

2. The constitution of a board to manage the fund and 
to carry into execution the plan of public instruction. 



Muephey's Eeport, 1817 125 

3. The organization of schools. 

•1. The course of studies to be prescribed for each. 

5. The modes of instruction. 

6. The discipline and government of the schools. 

7. The education of poor children at the public ex- 
pense. 

8. An Asylum for the deaf and dumb. 

Havine; reserved for a more special report the creation yews on school 

^ jr 1 fund reserved 

of a fund for public instruction, your committee will first *"'" sp^^^iai report, 
submit their views with respect to the constitution of a 
board for the management of this fund, and the execution 
aud superintendence of the general plan of education 
which they recommend. 

The Board of Public Iis^structiox. 

As the whole community will be interested in the plan Board, with gov- 
of education, the members of the board should be selected to have charge of 

' schools and the 

from different parts of the State. They have charge of all ^'^'^ooi fund, 
our literary institutions ; and to give more weight and re- 
spectability to their deliberations and resolves, the governor 
of the State should be placed at their head. It will 
be their province to manage and apply the fund committed 
to their care, to carry into execution from time to time 
as it shall be found practicable, the different parts of the 
plan of public education; to superintend the same when 
in full operation ; to prescribe general rules and regula- 
tions for the discipline and government of the schools ; to 
make annual reports to the Legislature of their proceedings 
and of the state of the schools under their charge. Your 
committee do therefore recommend^ — - 

1st. That there shall be elected by joint ballot of the Assembly to elect 

TT c ^ r-\ -i K 11 -T 1 the board of six. 

two Houses of the (jeneral Assembly, six directors who 
shall be styled, "The board of public instruction" ; that 
three of the directors shall reside at or to the eastward of 
the city of Raleigh, and three shall reside at or to the 
westward thereof. 



126 



MuKPHEy's IiEPORT, lb 17 



Governor ex-officio 
president. 



Secretary to be 
appointed. 



Com])ensatii)n of 
membcis of board: 
annual and othtT 
meetinss. 



2d. That the governor for the time being, shall be 
ex ujiicio j)resident of the board; but the board may ap- 
point a vice-president who shall preside in the absence of 
the governor. 

bd. The board shall apj)oint a secretary and such 
other officers as may be necessary for conducting their 
business, who shall receive a reasonable compensation for 
their services. 

4th. Until otherwise ordered, the members of the board 
shall recei\'e the same compeiisation for their traveling 
to and from the place of their meeting; and the same per 
diem during their attendance on the board, as is nov/ allow- 
ed by law to members of the General Assembly. Thev 
shall hold an annual meeting in .the city of Raleigh at or 
near the time of meeting of the General Assembly. The 
president' of the board may at his own pleasure, or shall at 
the request of any two of the directors thereof, convene 
extra meetings of the board for the transaction of any 
extraordinary business. A majority of the whole 
number of directors shall be necessary to constitute a 
board for the transaction of business, but the president or 
any single director, may adjourn from day to day until a 
board is formed. 

5th. The board may at any time enact, alter or amend 

such rules as to them may seem proper for the purpose 

of regulating the order of their jDroceedings ; they may 

adjourn for any period or meet at any place, where they 

Board to have ^^7 think the public interests shall require. They shall 

all schools, fix have power subject to the limitations to be provided by 

salaries of teachers , it n i i t , . ,. 

appoint trustees, law, to establish and locate the several academies directed 

and devise plan 

towe? to^hi-her^"" ^^ ^'^^^' ^^ ^® established ; to determine the number and 
schools. titles of the professorships therein; to examine, appoint 

and regulate the compensation of the several professors 
and teachers; to appoint in the first instance the trustees 
of the several academies and primary schools, according 
to such general rules as shall be established bv law : to 



Board may make 
rules and " 
alter them. 



Mukphey's Report, lbl7. 127 

provide some just and particular mode of advancing from 
the primary schools to the academies, and from academies 
to the university, as many of the must meritorious children 
educated at the pviblic expense, as the proceeds of the 
fund for public instruction may suffice to educate and 
maintain, after tlie whole system of public instruction 
hereby recommended, shall be put into operation; to niua- 
age the fund for public instruction, and apply its pro- 
ceeds in carrying into execution and supporting the plan 
of education committed to their care; and in giving effect 
to this plan, the board shall regard the primary schools at 
its foundation, and care shall be taken that the proceeds of 
the fund for public instruction shall not be applied to the 
establishment of any academy, so long as it is probable that 
such application may leave any primary school unprovided 
for. And the board shall have power to enact, alter or 
amend such bye-laws, rules and regulations relative to the 
various subjects committed to their trust, as to them may 
seem expedient : Provided the same be not inconsistent 
with the laws of the State; and they shall recommend to 
the General Assembly from time to time, such general 
laws in relation to public instruction, as may in their 
opinion, be calculated to promote the intellectual and 
moral improvement of the State. 

6th. The directors of the board of public instruction ^^^t^i^^j^ of l^*^^^^ 
for the time being shall, ex officio^ be trustees of the uni- '^ tieumversit>. 
versity of this State. 

7th. The treasurer of the State shall have charge of T;-e«^'irt.i-^;^f^^tate 
the fund for public instruction, and the proceeds thereof "* "^''^""^ *"'"^- 
shall be paid upon warrants drawn by the president of 
the board ; and all expenses incurred in carrying into 
effect the system of public instruction and supporting the 
same, shall be charged upon this fund and paid out of 
the proceeds thereof. 

8th. The board of public instruction shall annually ^«;^[^[°j;^^J^t% 
submit to the General Assembly at or near the commence- pXiic'edu*cati()ii. 



128 



Muephey's Eeport, 1817 



Board to be a 
corporation. 



General outline 
of Course I if study 
in three classes 
of schools. 



Impossible to 
locate a primary 
school convenient 
to every family. 



The primary 
schools first in 
importance. 



ment of their session, a view of the state of public educa- 
tion within the State, embracing a histoi}^ of the progress 
or declension during the year next preceding, and illustrat- 
ing its actual condition and future prospects ; and also 
setting forth the condition of the fund committed to their 
trust for public instruction. 

9tli. The board of public instruction shall be a body 
politic in law ; shall have a common seal and perpetual 
succession; shall by the name and style of ''The Board of 
Public Instruction," be capable of suing antl being sued, 
pleading and being impleaded; and shall have and enjoy 
all the rights and privileges of a corporation. 

The Organization of Schools. 

In arranging the system of schools, your committee have 
endeavored to make the progress of education natural and 
regular ; beginning with primary schools, in which the 
first rudiments of learning are taught, and proceeding to 
academies, in which youth are to be instructed in lan- 
guages, ancient and modern history, mathematics and other 
branches of science, preparatory to entering into the Uni- 
versity, in which instruction is to be given in all the 
higher branches of the sciences and the principles of the 
useful arts. 

In making this arrangement the greatest difficulties 
have occurred in organizing the primary schools. These 
difficulties arise from the condition of tho country and the 
State of its population ; it being found impossible to divide 
the State into small sections of territory, each containing 
an adequate population for the support of a school. Any 
attempt to divide the territory of the State into such 
small sections, with a view of locating a school in each, 
would prove unavailing; and however desirable it may be, 
that a school should be established convenient to every 
family, the time has not arrived when it can be done. 
The primary schools are of the first importance in any 



Muephey's Eepokt, 1817 129 

general plan of pnblic education; every citizen has an 
interest in them, as the learning is indispensable to all, 
of reading, writing and arithmetic, is here to be taught. 
By judicious management and a proper selection of books 
for children while they are learning to read, much in- 
struction in their moral and religious duties may be given 
them in these schools. Your committee have diligently oomniutee has 

studied other 

examined the plans of public instruction which have been school sysstems 
submitted to the General Assembly of our sister State, 
Virginia, and also those which have been carried into 
effect in some of the JSFew England States ; they have also 
examined the plan Avhich was drawn up and adopted by 
the national convention of France, and vvhich now forms 
the basis of public instruction in all of the communes of 
that empire; and deriving much aid from this examina- 
tion upon every part of the subject referred to them, they 
have suggested a system which they hope may be found 
to suit the conditions of Xorth Carolina. In designating 
the schools of different grades, they have adopted the 
names in common use. Your committele do therefore 
recommend that as to 

The Primary Schools. 
1. That each county in this State be divided into two counties to be 

, . , , . . , divided into town- 

or more townships ; and that one or more primary scnools shii)s : one or more 

schools to be es- 

be established in each township, provided a lot of ground tiii)iished in 

'- ' ^ o each and ni towns; 

not less than four acres and a sufficient house erected ^ bfdOTiated"^ 
thereon, be provided and vested in the board of pnblic in- 
struction. And that every incorporated town in the State 
containing more than one hundred families, shall be 
divided into wards. Such town containing less than one 
hundred families shall be considered as forming only one 
ward. Each ward upon conveying to the board of public 
instruction a lot of ground of the value of two hundred and 
fifty dollars, shall be entitled to the benefits and privileges 
of a primary school. 



130 



Muephey's Eepukt, 1817 



Five township • 
trustees to manage 
sohools and select 
children to be 
educated. 



Each teacher's 
salary to be SIOO. 



This plan divides 
the expense of 
schools between 
individuals and 
the public. 



Number of 
children to be 
taught. 



2. The Court of Pleas and Quarter sessions shall 
annually elect for each township in their respective coun- 
ties, five persons as trustees of the primary schools to be 
established in such county, who shall have power to fix the 
scites of the primary schools to be established thereon, su- 
perintend and manage the same, make rules for their gov- 
ernment, appoint trustees, appoint tenchers, and remove 
thtni at pleasure. They shall select such children residing 
in their township, whose parents are unable to pay for their 
schooling, who shall be taught at the said schools for three 
years without charge. They shall report to the board of 
public instruction, the rules which they may adopt for 
the government of said schools, and shall annually report 
to the said board the state of the schools, the number and 
conduct of the pupils educated at the public expense, such 
books, stationery and other implements for learning, as 
may be necessary. 

4. The teacher of each primary school shall receive a 
salary of one hundred dollars, to be paid out of the fund 
for public instruction. 

T*his plan for establishing primary schools is simple, 
and can easily be carried into execution. It divides the 
expenses of these schools between the public and those indi- 
viduals for whose immediate benefit they are established; 
it secures a regular stipend to the teachers, and yet holds 
out inducements to them to be active and faithful in their 
calling; and it enables every neighborhood, whether the 
number of its inhabitants be few or many, to have a 
primary school, at the cheap price of a small lot of ground, 
and a house erected thereon, sufficient for the purpose 
of the school. Were these schools in full operation in 
every section of the State, even in the present state of our 
population, more than fifteen thousand children would an- 
nually be taught in them. These schools would be to the 
rich a convenience, and to the poor, a blessing. 



Muephey's Kepokt, 1817 131 

Academies. 

After children shall have gone through the course of Aeacfemies*^^ 
studies prescribed for the primary schools, those of them 
who are to be further advanced in education, will be 
]3]aced in the Academies, where they will be instructed 
in languages, ancient and modern history, mathematics 
and other branches of science preparatory to their enter- 
ing into the University. The Academies shall be located ^"(ft'^o^g^g^fj'^^ 
in different districts of tlie State for the convenience .^f '""'''*" '^^•^«'^'^^^'^- 
the peojjle, and the expenses of purchasing suitable sites 
and erecting thereon the necessary buildings, shall be di- 
vided between the public at large and the several districts. 
Private liberality has of late erected many small Acade- 
mies in the State, which deserve the consideration and 
patronage of the Legislature. From the benefits which 
have accrued to the public from these small Academies, 
we may form an opinion of the good v/hich would flow 
from larger institutions of the same sort, if regularly 
located throughout the State, and aided with suitable 
funds. The state of learning among us will never become 
respectable until we have such regular Academical insti- 
tutions. Your committee do therefore recommend : 

1st. That the board of public instruction shall divide state board to 
the State into ten Academical districts, containing each academical dis 

triuts. 

one or more counties, and as near as practicable^ an equal 
number of white population, and number the districts 
from one upwards. 

2d. When in any of the districts there is an Academy Board may take 
established, the trustees thereof may submit to the board aeademLel^ 
of public instruction, a report on the actual condition of 
their institution, its relative position to the boundaries of 
the district, the number and dimensions of the buildings, 
their value and state of repair, the extent of ground on 
which they are erected ; the number and denom- 
ination of the professors and teachers employed therein, 
and of the pupils educated thereat. If the board should 



132 



MuRPHEYs Report, 1817 



Board may 
approiiriate one- 
third value of pri- 
vate buildings for 
repairs. 



Board may con- 
tribute one-tliird 
to. erect new 
buildings. 



Eleven trustees 
to be appointed l>y 
board to manage 
each academy. 



think the Academy properly situated for the beiielit of the 
district, and that thebiiildings and grounds will answer their 
intended purposes, notice thereof shall he given to the trus- 
tees; and ujDon conveyance being made of the said gTound 
and houses to the board of public instruction, the academy 
shall be entitled to the same beneiits which may be ex- 
tended to any academy that may be erected, and shall be 
subject to the same rules and regulations in relation to 
the government thereof, wdiicli the board of public instruc- 
tion or the General Assembly may provide for the general 
government of the Academies of the State. But the trus- 
tees of such academies may continue to hold their offices 
and to supply vacancies occurring in their body. 

3d. In case the buildings of ■ any academy alread} 
established and so accepted by the board of public in- 
struction rc'(iuire repair or any alteration or enlargement^ 
tlie board shall appropriate a sum sufficient to repair, 
alter or enlarge the said buildings, provided the sum r-o 
appropriated shall not exceed one-third part of the value 
of the entire buildings, when so altered, repaired, or 
enlarged. The alterations or enlargement of the build- 
ings shall be planned by the board of public instruction 
and executed according to their order. 

4th. In any academical district where there is no 
academy now established, or none which the board of pub- 
lic instruction shall think will answer their intended pur- 
pose, the board may accept a lot of ground, of sufficient 
extent in their estimation, and conveniently situated for 
the erection of an academy for the district provided that 
two-third parts of the sum required for the erection of 
suitable buildings for the said academy be previously sub- 
scribed by one or more persons, and the payment thereof 
assured to the board of public instruction. 

5th. When any conveyance of the lot of ground on 
which the buildings are erected, shall be accepted of by 
the board, they shall a]ipoint eleven persons residing 



Murphey's Report, 1817. 133 

within the district, trustees of the Academy, who shall 
be deemed a body corporate by such title as the board of 
public instruction shall prescribe ; shall have and enjoy all 
the rights and privileges of a corporation; shall have 
power to elect a president from their own 'body, and to 
till all vacancies which occur therein. They may make, 
alter or amend such bye-laws, rules and regulations as 
they shall deem necessary or expedient, for the govern- 
ment of their OAvn body, and of the professors, teacherr.; 
and puj)ils of the academy of which they have charge ; pro- 
\-ided they be not inconsistent with such general regula- 
tions as the board of public instruction may provide for 
tlie general government of the academies of the State. 

6th. The trustees shall provide by contract for the powers of trustees 
erection of the necessary buildings of their academy, and " *"^ " ^™^' 
appoint a treasurer who shall have authority to collect the 
several sums subscribed thereto, and shall be entitled to 
receive in virtue of their order upon the board of public 
instruction, signed by their president such sums of money 
as the board may, from time to time appropriate for the 
erection of the buildings, their repairs or alterations, sala- 
ries of professors and teachers, and other purposes of the 
academy. 

7th. As soon as any academy is ready far the admis- Method of seiect- 
sion of pupils, the trustees may recommend to the board 
of public instruction, any person to be a professor or 
teacher therein, who, if approved after examination, in 
some mode to be prescribed by the board, shall be regarded 
as a professor or teacher of such academy, but subject to 
removal at the pleasure of the trustees or the board. 
Where vacancies shall occur among the professors or 
teachers during the recess of the board, the trustees may 
make temporary appointments, to be confirmed or disap- 
proved by the board at their next session. 

8th. The trustees of any academy may fix the salaries one-third of 
of their respective teachers, subject to the control of the iiy academy board. 



134 



Murphey's Repoet, 1817. 



Certain pupils to 
be tantflit free. 



Summary of plans 
as to academies. 



What it has done. 



Why leKislatirre 
withdrew its 
support. 



Private donations. 



board of public instruction ; one third part of the salaries 
shall be paid by the board at such times and in such wav 
as they shall prescribe. 

9th. The professors and teachers in any academy shall 
be bound to instruct, free of charge for tuition, the pupils 
whom the board of public instruction may designate to be 
taught in said academy at the public expense. 

Your committee have perhaps gone into unnecessary 
details respecting the academies. Their plan simply is, 
to divide the State into ten academical districts, and that 
one academy be erected in each ; that the State shall ad- 
vance one-third of the sum required for the erection of 
necessary buildings, and one-third of the sum to be paid 
in salaries to professors and teachers, making it their duty 
to teach poor children free of charge. 

The University. 

This institution has been in operation for tv/enty years, 
and has been eminently useful to the State. It has con- 
tributed perhaps more than any other cause, to diffuse a 
taste for reading among the poor, and excite a spirit of 
liberal improvement ; it has contributed to change our 
manners and elevate our character ; it has given to society 
many useful members, not only in the liberal professions, 
but in the walks of private life ; and the number of pupils 
who are honored with seats in this legislature is a proof 
of the estimation in which they are held by their fellow 
citizens. When this institution was first founded, it was 
fondly hoped that it would be cherished with pride by the 
legislature. But unfortunately the nature of the funds 
with which it was endowed, in a short time rendered it 
odious to some, and cooled the ardor of others. The tor- 
rent of prejudice could not be stemmed ; the fostering pro- 
tection of the legislature was withheld and the institution 
left dependent upon private munificence. 

Individuals contributed not only to relieve its necessi- 



Murphey's Eeport, 1817. 135 

ties, but to rear up its edifices and establish a permanent 
fund for its support. At the head of these individuals 
stood the late Governor Smith, Charles Gerard and Gen. 
Thomas Person. The first tv/o made valuable donations 
in lands, and the last, with a sum of money, with which 
one of the halls at the university has been erected. To 
enable them to complete the main edifice, the trustees 
have been compelled to sell most of the lands devised to 
them by Mr. Gerard, and as the lands conveyed to them 
by Governor Smith lie within the Indian boundary, the 
trustees have not been able as yet to turn them to a pro- 
ductive account. With the aid thus derived from indi- 
viduals, together with the occasional funds derived from 
escheats, the institution has progressed thus far. The othe/fund^ 
Legislature after exhausting its patience in endeavoring to 
collect the arrearages of debts due to the State, transferred 
to the university those arrearages, with the hope that they 
would be able to enforce payment. But no better fortune 
has attended their efforts than those of the State, and this 
transfer has proved of no avail to the institution. The 
surplus remaining in the hands of administrators where 
the next of kin have made no claim within seven years, 
have also been transferred to the trustees ; but this has 
yet yielded a very small fund and probably never will 
yield much. The legislature have enlarged the rights of 
inheritance, and in this way have nearly deprived the 
institution of the revenue from escheats. Amidst all Present condition 

of the sctiool. 

these embarrassments, the trustees have never lost sight 
of the necessity of accumulating a fund in bank stock, 
the annual proceeds of which would enable them to con- 
tinue the operations of the institution ; and they have suc- 
ceeded so far as to be able to support two professorships, 
and employ two or three tutors. But there is little pros- 
pect of adding to this fund, until the lands given by 
Governor Smith can be sold ; and if that period be waited 
for, the institution must necessarily languish and sink in 



186 



Mubpiiey's IIepokt, 1817. 



The benefit of 
higher education. 



The need of 
secondary schools 
t(j prepare for the 
university. 



respectability. It is at this moment almost destitute of 
a Library, and entirely destitute of Aparatus necessary 
for instructing youth in mathematical and physical sci- 
ences. Add to this, that one half of the necessary build- 
ings have not been erected. 

In this state of things and at a moment when former 
prejudices have died away, when liberal ideas begin to 
prevail, when the pride of this State is awakening and an 
honorable ambition is cherished for her glory, an appeal 
is made to the patriotism and the generous feelings of the 
Legislature in favor of an institution, which in all civi- 
lized nations, has been regarded as the nursery of moral 
greatness, and the palladium of civil liberty. That the 
people who cultivate the sciences . and the arts with most 
success, acquire a most enviable superiority over others. 
Learned men by their discoveries and works give a lasting 
splendor to national character ; and such is the enthusiasm 
of man, that there is not an individual, however humble 
in life his lot may be, who does not feel proud to belong 
to a country honored with great men and magnificent in- 
stitutions. It is due to ISTorth Carolina, it is due to the 
great man who first j^roposed the foundation of the Uni- 
versity, to foster it with parental fondness and give to it 
an importance commensurate with the high destinies of 
the State. Your committee deem this subject of so much 
interest, that they beg leave in a future report to submit 
to the two houses a plan for increasing: the funds of the 
University. 

This institution has uniformly labored under the double 
disadvantages of a want of funds, and the want of sub- 
sidiary institutions, in which youth could be instructed 
preparatory to their entering upon a course of the higher 
branches of science in the University. This latter disad- 
vrntage has been so great, that the trustees have been com- 
pelled to convert the University, in part into a grammar 
school. This disadvantaa'e has been of late removed in 



Muefhey's Report, 1817. 137 

part, by the establishment of academies in different parts 
of the State; but it will continue to be much felt, until 
regular academical institutions shall be made and the 
course of study prescribed for them. 

Another serious disadvantage and a consequence of the present *coi lege 
one last mentioned, is the necessity which the peculiar. 
state of academical learning has imposed upon the trus- 
tees, of conferring the honorary degrees of an University 
upon young men who have not made that progress in the 
sciences, of which their diploma purports to be a testi- 
monial. This is an evil which is found in almost all of 
the Universities of the Union. A young man enters into 
an University with only slight acquirements in classical 
education, and after remaining four years, during which 
time he is instructed in only the outlines of the general 
principles of science, he receives a degree : the consequence 
is that he leaves the University with his mind trained 
only to general and loose habits of thinking: and if he 
enters into professional life, he has to begin his education 
anew. The great object of education is to discipline the 
mind, to give to it habits of activity, of close investiga- 
tion : in fine, to teach men to think. And it is a reproach 
upon almost all the literary institutions of our country, 
that the course of study pursued in them teaches most 
young men how to become literary triflers. Their multi- 
farious occupations dissipate their time and attention : 
They acquire much superficial knowledge; but they re- 
main ignorant of the profounder and more abstract truths 
of philosophy. Indeed, the road to the profound sciences 
is of late so infested with pleasant elementary books, com- 
pilations, abridgements, summaries and encyclopedias, 
that few, very few in our country ever travel it. 

To remove this reproach upon the state of learning New plan of in- 

. . ^ struotioii necessary 

among us, a new plan of instruction in our university 
must be organized; a plan which shall give to the dif- 
ferent classes in the institution, an arrano;ement founded 



138 



Mukpiiey's Report, 1817. 



Needs of the 
university. 



Three new build- 
ings, library, etc. 



More funds and 
teachers. 



upon a philosophical division of the j^i'^sent improved 
state of knowledge ; and which in its execution shall train 
the mind both to liberal views and minute investigation. 

Your committee have been thus particular in submit- 
ting to the two houses an exposition of the actual condition 
of the university, wuth a view of recalling their consid- 
eration to the solemn injunction of the constitution as to 
every part of the subject referred to them ; "That a school 
or schools shall be established by the Legislature for the 
convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the 
masters, paid by the public, as may enable them to in- 
struct at low j)rices ; and all useful learning shall be duly 
encouraged and promoted in one or more Universities." 
Our university is the only institution wdiich the legisla- 
ture has yet founded and endowed in compliance with this 
injunction; but even as to this institution the spirit of the 
constitution is far from being complied with. We have 
not buildings for the accommodation of youth, nor books, 
nor apparatus for their instruction — ^your committee do 
therefore recommend, 

1st. That three additional buildings be erected at the 
university ; two for the accommodation of students and 
one for tlie library and apparatus. This last building to 
contain suitable rooms for the delivery of lectures by the 
different professors. 

2d. That a library and suitable apparatus for in- 
structing youth in the mathematical and physical sciences, 
be procured for the use of said institution. 

3d. That funds be assigned for endowing to (two) 
professorships, and supporting six additional teachers. 

These are the present wants of the University ; as our 
population encreases, the number of buildings must be 
encreased, and more funds be provided for supporting 
teachers. In a subsequent part of this report your com- 
mittee have recommended that there be four classes in the 
university with a professor at the head of each, "who shall 



Muephey's Eeport, 1817. 139 

be assisted with such adjunct professors or teachers, as the 
state of the institution may require. 

The Course of Study. 

1st. In the primary schools should be taught reading, '^;^l^^ schools. 
writing and arithmetic. A judicious selection of books 
should from time to time be made by the board of public 
instruction for the use of small children; books which 
shall excite their curiosity and improve their moral dis- 
positions. And the board should be ompowerecl to com- 
pile and have printed for the use of primary schools, such 
books as they may think will best subserve the purposes 
of intellectual and moral instruction. In these books 
should be contained many of the historical parts of the old 
and new testament, that children may early be made ac- 
quainted with the books which contains the word of truth ^ 
and the doctrines of eternal life. 

2d. In the academies should be taught the Latin, f'o^i^r|^.^n the 
Greek, French and English languages, the higher rules of 
arithmetic, the six first books of Euclid's elements. Alge- 
bra, Geography, the elements of Astronomy, taught with 
the use of the Globes, ancient and modern history. The 
basis of a good education is classical and mathematical 
knowledge; and no young man ought to be admitted into 
the university without such knowledge. 

3d. In the university the course of study should oc- Courses injthe 

■^ "^ university. 

cupy four years ; and there should be four classes to be 
designated. 

1st. The class of languages — In this class should be 
studied, 1st. the more difficult Latin, Greek and French 
classics : 2d. Ancient and Modern history : 3d. Belles 
letters : 4th. Rhetoric. 

2d. The class of mathematics — in this class should be 
studied, 1st. Pure mathematics : 2d. Their applica- 
tion to the purposes of physical science. 

3d. The class of physical sciences — In this class 
should be taught, 1st. Physics: 2d. Chemistry: 3d. 



140 



MuiiPHEY^s Report, 1817. 



Uuderstaiiding- of 
mental science 
necessary to 
correct method. 



Pestalozzi and 

Lancaster. 



The philosophy of natural history : 4th. Mineralogy : 
5th. Botany: 6th. Zoology. 

4tli. The class of moral and political science— In this 
class should be taught. 1st. The philosophy of the hu- 
man mind : 2d. Morals : 3d. The laws of nature and 
of nations : 4th. Grovernment and legislation : 5th. 
Political economy. 

The Modes of Ixstkuctiois". 

The great object of education is intellectual and moral 
improvement; and that the mode of instruction is to be 
preferred which best serves to effect this object. That 
mode is to be found only in a correct knowledge of the 
human mind, its habits, jDassions, and manner of opera- 
tion. The j)hilosopliy of the mind, which in ages pre- 
ceding has been cultivated only in its detached branches 
has of late years received form and system in the schools 
of Scotland. This new science promises the happiest re- 
sults. It has sapped the foundation of scepticism by es- 
tablishing the authority of those primitive truths and in- 
tuitive principles, which form the basis of all demonstra- 
tion; it has taught to man the extent of his intellectual 
powers, and marking the line which separates truth from 
hypothetical conjecture, has pointed out to his view the 
boundaries which Providence has prescribed to inquiries. 
It has determined the laws of the various faculties of the 
mind, and furnished a system of philosophic logic for con- 
ducting our enquiries in every branch of knowledge. 

This new science has given birth to new methods of in- 
struction; methods which being founded upon a correct 
knowledge of the faculties of the mind, have eminently 
facilitated their development. Pestalozzi of Switzerland 
and Joseph Lancaster of England, seem to have been most 
successful, in the application of new methods to the in- 
struction of the children. Their methods are different 
but each is founded upon a profound knowledge of the 
human mind. The basis of each method is, the excite- 



Murphey's Eeport, 1817. 141 

nient of the curiosity of children ; thereby awakening 
their nxinds and preparing them to receive instruction. 
The success which has attended the application of their 
methods, particularly that of Lancaster has been astonish- 
ing. Although but very few years have elapsed since 
Lancastrian schools were first established, they have 
spread over the British empire, extended into the conti- 
nent of Europe, the Island of St. Domingo, and the 
United States. Various improvements in the details of 
his plan have been suggested by experience and adopted ; 
and it is probable that in time, his will become the uni- 
versal mode of instruction for children. The Lancastrian 
plan is equally distinguished by its simplicity, its facility 
of application, the rapid intellectual improvement which 
it gives, and the exact discipline which it enforces. The 
moral eifects of the plan are also astonishing; exact and 
correct habits are the surest safeguards of morals; and il 
has often been remarked, that out of the immense number 
of children and grown persons instructed in Lancaster's 
schools, few, verv few have ever been prosecuted in a Methods of 

' ' ^ i Liincaster recom- 

court of' jnstice for any ofPense. llour committee do primi^ schools. 
therefore recommend that whenever it be practicable, the 
Lancastrian mode of instruction may be successfully 
introduced into the primary schools. The general 
principles of this method may be successfully intro- 
duced into the acadepiies and university ; and your com- 
mittee indulge the hope, that the board of public instrnc- 
tion, and the professors and teachers in these respective 
institutions, will use their best endeavors to adopt and 
enforce the best methods of instruction which the present 
state of knowledge will enable them to devise. 

Obedience to law 

The Discipline a^^d Governme^^t of the Schools, cuk.afedl^^ "^" 
In a republic, the first duty of a citizen is obedience to 
the law. We acknowledge no sovereign but the law, and 
from infancy to manhood our children should be taught to 
bow with reverence to its majesty. In childhood parental 
authority enforces the first lesson of obedience; in youth 



142 



MuKPHEY^s Report, 181' 



Measures should 
be taken to sup- 
press disorder. 



Discipline at the 
university. 



this authority is aided by the municipal law which in 
manhood wields the entire supremacy. As the political 
power and the social happiness of a state depend upon tht- 
obedience of its citizens, it becomes an object of the iirsi 
importance to teach youth to reverence the law, and cherish 
habits of implicit obedience to its authority. Such obedi- 
ence not only contributes to the strength and tranquility 
of the state, but also constitutes the basis of good man- 
ners, of deference and respect in social intercourse. But 
in our country, youth generally become acquainted with 
the freedom of our political institutions, much sooner 
than with the principles upon which that freedom is bot- 
tomed, and by which it is to be preserved ; and few learn 
until experience teaches them in the school of practical 
life, that true liberty consists not in doing what they 
please, but in doing that which the law permits. Th« 
consequence has been, that riot and disorder have dis- 
honored almost all the colleges and Universities of the 
Union. 

The temples of science have been converted into thea- 
tres for acting disgraceful scenes of licentiousness and re- 
bellion. How often has the generous patriot shed tears 
of reg^-et fcf such criminal follies ofl youth ? Follies 
which cast reproach upon learning and bring scandal 
upon the State. This evil can only be corrected by the 
moral eifects of early education; by instilling into chil- 
dren upon the first dawnings of reason, the principles of 
duty, and by nurturing those principles as reason ad- 
vances, until obedience to authority shall become a habit 
of their nature. When this course shall be found inef- 
fectual the arm of the civil power must be stretched forth 
to its aid. 

The discipline of a University may be much aided by 
the arrangement of the buildings, and the location of the 
different classes. Each class should live together in sepa- 
rate buildings, and each to be under the special care of its 
own professors and teachers. A regular system of subor- 



Muephey's REroRT, 1817. 143 

dination may in this way be established ; each class would 
have its own character to maintain, and the Esprit de 
Corps of the classes would influence all their actions. 
Similar arrangements may in part, be made in the several 
academies, and the like good effect expected from them. 

The amusements of youth may also be made auxiliary Athletics. 
to the exactness of discipline. The late president of the 
United States, Mr. Jefferson, has recommended upon this 
part of the subject, that through the whole course of in- 
struction at a college or university, at the hours of recre- 
ation on certain days, all the students should be taught 
the manual exercise, military evolutions and manoeuvers, 
should be under a standing organization as a military 
corps, and with proper officers to train and command 
them. There can be no doubt that much may be done in 
this way towards enforcing habits of subordination and 
strict discipline — it will be the province of the board of 
jDublic instruction, who have the general superintendend- 
ing care of all the literary institutions of the state, to de- 
vise for them systems of discipline and government ; and 
your committee hope that they will discharge their duty 
with fidelity. 

The Education of Pooe Ciiii-dren at the Public Ex- 
pense. 

One of the strongest reasons which we can have for es- 
tablishing a general plan of public instruction, is the con- 
dition of the poor children of our country. Such lias 
always been and probably always will l>e the allotment of 
human life, that the poor will form a large portion of 
every community; and it is the duty of those who manage 
the affairs of a state, to extend relief to this unfortunate 
part of our species in every way in their power. 

Providence, in the impartial distribution of its favors, 
whilst it has denied to the poor many of the comforts of 
life, has generally bestowed upon them the blessing of in- 
telligent children. Povertv is the school of i^-enius ; it is 



Duty of the state 
to educate the 
poor. 



144 Murphey's Report, 1817. 

a school in which the active powers of man are developed 
and disciplined, and in which that moral courage has ac- 
quired, w^hich enables him to toil with difficulties, priva- 
tions and want. From this school generally come forth 
those men who act the principal parts upon the theatre of 
life; men who impress a character npon the age in which 
forms grows np in it. The State should take this school 
tinder her sj)ecial care, and nurturiug the genius which 
there grows in rich luxuriance, give to it an honorable and 
profitable direction. Poor children are the peculiar prop- 
erty of the State, and by proper cultivation they will con- 
stitute a fund of intellectual and moral worth which will 
greatly subserve the public interest. Your committee 
have therefore endeavored to j^rovide for the education of 
all poor children in the primary schools ; they have also 
provided fur the advancement into the academies and uni- 
versity, of such of those children as are most distinguished 
for genius and give the best assurance of future nseful- 
Those educated ness. FoT three vears they are to be educated in the pri- 

beyond primary " . 

and^ciothed^bvlhe ^^^^^T schools free of charge ; the portion of them who shall 
^**^^' be selected for further advancement, shall, during the 

whole course of their future education, be clothed, fed and 
taught at the public expense. The number of children 
who are to be thus advanced, will depend upon the state of 
the fund set apart for public instruction, and your com.- 
mittee think it wall be most advisable to leave the number 
to the discretion of the board, who shall have charge of 
the fund ; and also to leave to them the providing of some 
just and particular mode of advancing this number from 
the primary schools to the academies, and from the acade- 
mies to the university. 

AiN' Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. 
Humanity de- If there be any of our species who are entitled to the 

mands education ,,. . , ,". ^ ,, , •, • i xT 

of deaf and dumb, public Consideration of the government, it is surely tnc 
deaf and dumb. Since the method of instructing them 
in science and lano:uai>e has been discovered, numerous 



Murphey's Report, 1817. 145 

asjhims in diiferent countries have been establislied for 
tlieir instruction. While we are engaged in making pro- 
visions for otliers, humanity demands that we make a 
suitable provision for them. Your committee do there- 
fore recommend that as soon as the state of the fund for 
public instruction will admit, the board who have charge 
of that fund, be directed to establish at some suitable 
place in the State, an asylum for the instruction of the 
deaf and dumb. 

Your committee have now submitted to the two houses 
their general views upon the subject referred to them, 
they have proposed the creation of a fund for public in- 
stiTiction, the appointment of a board to manage this fund, 
and to carry into effect the plan of education which they 
have recommended. This plan embraces a gradation of 
schools from the lowest to the highest, and contains a pro- 
vision for the education of poor children — and of the 
deaf and dumb. 

When this or some other plan of iudicious education, Benefits of 

^ •> ' education. 

when light and knowledge shall be shed upon all, may we 
not indulge the hope, that men will be. convinced that wis- 
dom's ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are 
peace ; and be induced by such conviction to regulate their 
conduct by the rule of christian morality, of doing unto 
others as they wish they would do unto them; and that 
they will learn to do justly, to love mercy and walk hum- 
bly before their God. 

Your committee will forthwith report bills to cany into 
effect the several measures recommended in this report. 
Eespectfully submitted, 

:N"ov. 27, 1817. A. D. Murphey, Chairman. 

The house taking the foregoing report into considera- j^yn^te resolution 
tion, Resolved unanimously that they do concur therewith, report"^^^^^ ^ 
On motion of Mr. Davidson^, Ordered, That the following 
message be sent to the House of Commons. 



'Wm. Davidson, Mecklenburg. 
10 



146 Murphey's Report, 181Y. 

House. ''"^'' ^^1'- Speaker — We propose that the report of the com- 

mittee on that part of the Governor's message relative to 
public instruction be printed, one copy for each member 
of this General Assembly. 

— Senate Journal, pp. 30-42. 

Thursday, Dec. 4th, 1817. Received from the House 
of Commons the following message. 

Mr. Speaker — Your proposition to have printed, the 
report on Public Instruction, we assent to^. 

— Senate Journal, lSll-18, p. 49. 



' See House Journal for December 4, 1817, p. 40. 



4. WALKER'S REPORT 0> EDUCATION. 

Monday, Dec. 8, 1817. — The Speaker laid before the 
House the following letter : 
To The Honble 

The Speaker of the House of Commons, 
Sir, 

Having been appointed by the Speakers of the two walker's letter 
Honses of the Legislature, of NO. Ca: in obedience to a 
joint Ivesolntiun of tliat Ilonb'*" body, at their last Ses- 
sion ; a Commissioner, in common, with two other gentle- 
men, to digest a plan of Popular Education, and being 
unable to communicate with those Gent" on the subject — I 
have deemed it my duty, through you, to lay before your 
Hon: body the Plan of Education herewith submitted — 
Accept, Sir, of my Eespects 

John M. Walker. 

December 6th, 1817. 

The report was read and ordered to be sent to the Sen- t^°,^'^^u'v\°aS 
ate with a message, proposing to have it printed, one co|)y ^*^^°^ ' 
for each member of the assembly. 

— House Jonial, 1817, p. 59. 

To The Honorable fhe Legislature of Xorth Carolina, 
Gentlemen, 
At a time when the American peoiile ; from St. Croix, importance of 

i i ' ' jiublic education. 

to the Mississippi, accord in estimating the vast impor- 
tance of public Education. And when the Executives of 
every state, are annually increasing the recommendation 
of the subject, to the immediate representatives of the 
penple: I cannot fail to be duly impressed with the im- 
portance of the trust, committed to me, by your honorable 
Speakers — ]N^or can I fail felicitatino- mv fellow-citizens, 



147 



148 



Walker's Report, 1817. 



Legislature of 1815 
began the work 
of internal im- 
provements. 



Education of the 
poor of first 
importance. 



The resolution be- 
gan a new era. 



in common with your selves, in anticipation of the future, 
compared with a retrospect of the past. 

Too long have the energies of our state lain slumbering 
in listless inactivity; the Legislature of 1815, has im- 
mortalized itself, by cutting the Gordian Knot which had 
thus bound it in torpid lethargy. That Legislature took 
a comprehensive view of the duties of Legislation : its pre- 
decessors had contented themselves with passing honest 
laws and imposing moderate taxes : this was but part of 
their duty: the creating new rights and new interests, con- 
stitute the most important branch of legislation. Tlio 
head, the heart, the mountain, the valley, the lake, the 
river, are a like the common property of the state and 
constitute the rich mines into which the Legislators should 
dig and search ; and like the polisher of the diamond bring 
the hidden treasure to light, in its true and valuable form. 
That legislature commenced the great work of internal 
improvement, on a scale which vanquished the checkered 
interest of locality by interesting every section in equal 
rights and equal privileges. Already ISTorth-Carolina be- 
gins to emerge from her dormancy ; to assume her destined 
station among the galaxy of her sister states, whose bril- 
liant corruscations of inventive genius, has astonished an 
admiring world. 

Among the remaining objects of National importance, 
which that Legislature has left for its successors to ac- 
complished, may be placed first in importance the Edu- 
cating the poor. 

There are few subjects on which human ingenuity has 
been more generally exerted, and as few, in which it has 
more generally failed : whether this has proceeded from 
the want of invention or the irremediableness of the sub- 
ject, I shall proceed in the duty assigned me, stimulated 
by the maxim "Ex cohesione scintillum ex citat." 

Indeed, it would be a melancholy reflection, if, while 
ISTatiiral science was daily enlarging, so as not to be con- 
fined by the earth nor the heavens. Moral and Political 



Walker s Kepokt, 1817. 149 

phylosophy should be so limited as not to overcome the ob- 
stacles to human happiness, arising from ignorance. — 
However formidable these obstacles may have been let us 
not despair, for the American Revolution has opened wide 
the temple o'f ISTature. Morality, Politics and Phylosoph}- 
shine on her altars with new lights. Morality, which here- 
tofore, was confined to the narrow actions of individuals, 
is now made the broad basis on which is bottomed the wide 
Eepublic of America ; Politics has opened her vast field of 
principles, and secured to the American citizens those 
rights and liberties, where before were only found in the 
pages of Antiquity, While Phylosophy, like the radiant 
sun, illumines the whole, enlivens the mind, and animates 
the genius to its utmost achievements. Witness the bril- 
liant discoveries and inventions since our Revolution. — 
What age or what country can boast a Franklin, Ritten- 
house, and a host of others, whose inventions have created 
a new era in the interest of our country, by inviting from 
the American farmer, to reward whose labour JSTature 
seems to have exausted all her stores, a portion of skill 
and industry to be added to the Manufacturer. Allready 
Europe pays tribute to our inventive genius. — In clothing 
her nakedness and in guiding her mariner from clime to 
clime, she is indebted to our inventions. — To our Ritten- 
house she is indebted for the "Prophetic Planatarium," 
which unlocks the arcana of the celestial world. To our 
Franklin she is indebted for the pointed rod which draws 
down innocuously tbe fiery wrath of Heaven, beneath our 
feet. These are some of the rich gifts with which N^a- 
ture has adorned the genius of Columbia — Let us emulate 
her munificence, in improving the genius and talents of 
those who are unable to visit her temple. This will be 
national charity : — That virtue which jSTations and indi- 
viduals are so eloquently invited to practice, by the offer 
of every reward, which can awaken the present, or render 
ha]3py the future life: — This will be the highest species 



150 Walker's Report, 1817. 

of charity, dessiminating, among the poor, knowledge and 
virtue. 
ementmakef°e^du- Patriotism joins charity, in pleading another reason, 

cation a necessity. ,.-,.-, ^ • ^ r ^ • • i j- 

lor educating the poor, derived Irom the princii^les or 
our Government. 

Happy government ! where governor and governed are 
interchangeahle terms : — when he who sits on the highest 
spoke of Government which, by the salutary jDrinciples of 
rotation in office, is made alike obedient to the laws of its 
own revolution : — where all are equally invited and 
equally entitled to interchange the duties of citizen and 
officer. But in vain will our Fathers have hungered and 
toiled ; in vain will they have fought on the ensan- 
guined field for these inestimable principles ; if ignorance 
prevents their sons from enjoying the fruits of their vic- 
tory: — In vain may the legislator lucubrate over the mid 
night lamp in digesting equal laws : — In vain may the 
erudite Judge preside on the bench, if ignorant Juries 
decide the fact, and apply the law. What our renown 
armies may have acquired for a Nation ; — What ever 
wealth industry may have accumulated ; all these weigh 
light in the scale of comparison, with the helping of a 
wise Legislature ; a learned bench, and an enlightened 
Jury. View the Grand Juries of our country, the Pala- 
dium of our liberty; the great inquest of the I^ation; the 
grand arbiter of Honour, fame and reputation, and say, 
what cost will be too great to enlighten the yeomanry of 
our country from whence they are taken ? These consid- 
erations apply alone to us as individuals ; what shall we 
say when we compute the National loss ? What germs of 
genius have not the chilling blast of poverty smothered 
from their country's service ? How oft has Nature, 
always mindfull of equality in her works, compensated by 
fertility of genius, the scantiness of Fortune ^ Where are 
the Bacons and the Newtons of the old World ? Where 
the Franklins and Thompsons of the New ? They rise in 



Walker's Eeport, 1817. 151 

evidence. Let us not be tantalized by the deceptive ap- 
pearance of progressive education in our state. While ^j^^^^^^^^^^^ 
each county vies with its fellow in erecting Academies in •'*<^'iioois decreasing 
its bosom, the great mass of j)eiDple are destitute of 
schools. It is a melancholy fact that our schools are les- 
sening in their number and usefullness. The time has 
been when there was scarcely an old field whose 
bosom was not enlivened by a country school, whose gay- 
full numbers at their halcion meridian, enlivened the 
sterility of the field, or gladdened the solitude of the 
woods with their schoolboy's note. What avails it us tu 
13oint to our University the pride of the state ? or boast of 
our more numerous ornaments, our Academies ? While 
the great mass of our fellow-citizens are destitute of Edu- 
cation and the means of Education. And while too, this 
partial system of Education is spreadino- its influence in 

^ •" i o rpj^g masses des- 

a balqfull manner in our country, by destroying that tituce of education, 
happy equilibrium of our constitutions, equality, which 
it was the pride and glory of our fathers to establish and 
which should be our rich inheritance to maintain. — It re- 
quires but little experience and less foresight into human 
nature to foretell what will be the condition of our country 
when wealth and learning are the inheritance of the few, 
and ignorance and poverty the lot of the many. Compare 
the happy days of Rome when liberty gladdened the 
hearts of her citizens, and equality pervaded their condi- 
tion, with those tumultuous and contentious days, when 
her citizens were divided into a few learned Patricians w^^|n*^eauhand'^ 
and many ig-norant Plebeians. These remarks are not p!^,sl*e'ssions\iniy of 
made to discourage the Academic system, but to call your '^ 
attention to the effects which that system is producing — 
and from thence to draw a strong argument, for the gene- 
ral diffusion of Education among the poor, in order to 
counteract the increasing inequality of condition. For 
it may be affirmed that every Academy established puts 
down 3 or 4 country schools, by monopolizing those chil- 



152 



Walker's Report, 1817, 



Scarcity of native 
teachers. 



dren, whose parents are able and determined to support a 
school, it leaves the balance of the neighborhood too poor 
to support such teachers (at the present prices), as are 
worthy to teach. 

Did this assertion, that our schools are lessening in 
number and usefullness require support, we have only to 
look around and compare what portion of those who teach 
in our state, are native Carolinians : — scarcely one in ten. 
Why this aversion to so honorable and lucrative a profes- 
sion ? Is it because too few are educated among us ? Or 
is it because our educations are too superficial to be re- 
tailed to others? Or is it the remnant of that Feudal 
Aristocracy inherited from our translantic Ancestors ? who 
considered the peasantry as exchangeable stock, and whose 
policy it was to discourage the profession of country 
schools, to keep them ignorant and consequently poor, that 
they might be the more docile under their tyrany. How 
different were the sentiments in our antient sisters, 
Greece and Rome, where teaching was the most honour- 
able of professions, whose children were committed to 
their teachers, not only in the hours of learning, but in 
the hours of vacation, that they might learn by precept 
and example. The cause of this partial distribution of 
learning is too evident to require investigation ; it arises 
from the disparity of the number of those to be taught 
and the number willing to teach ; thereby creating a com- 
petition between the parents, which raised the price totj 
high to be purchased by the many. Change but this com- 

and price of tuition .. ,.,.■,. , , 

too high as a result, petition to the teachers by multiplying their number, and 
the price will be again reduced to a scale acceptable to all, 
to the child of poverty as to the child of wealth. Then 
shall our fields and woods again resound with the jocund 
sound of the school-boy's note. For the American poor, 
as yet, require no stimulus to educate their children. — 
Furnish them with teachers and their parental tenderness 

Increase of the '- 

thtfJ-eme'dy^'^^'^^'^'^ ^^^^ prompt them to their use. Ignorance has not yet, 



Too few teacliers 



Walker s Report, 1817. 158 

with all her train of vices, eradicated the finer feelings of 
their bosom, which, while it prompts them to obey the 
first law of nature, suft'ers them not to forget its dictates. 
It is not yet in America, as in some European countries. 
Where ignorance, poverty and vice, have destroyed the 
tenderness of parent, and where the oli'spring excites no 
other care or duty from the Parent, than sending it to its 
grave through the Nurse of a Foundling Hospital. It is 
common to the human bosom to Over-rate its chance of 
happiness; But the American Legislator should not b^ 
mislead by this sentiment. Nor should we think the same 
effects will not follow the same cause. Nor believe what 
has befallen other countries will not befall his, under sim- 
ilar circumstances. Is it not time then for the American 
Legislator to arrest the progress of ignorance ? 

Humanity pleads a still stronger reason for educating ^Ijanfto'eihuintte 
the poor, derived from the policy of our government, creasefvirtue."" 
The Continent of America is laid on a scale unparalleled 
by either of the old continents. Whether we regard the 
vastness of her territory or the grandeur of her scenery, or 
the richness of her productions. Her National origin dif- 
fers as wide from the origins of the Nations of the old 
World, as her geographical features — The nations of the 
old world had their origin in the darkness of time and 
Nadir of Intellect, their progress to manhood was slow 
and tardy; time was required to change the simplicity of 
the shepherd state or the rugged frugality of the camp in- 
to the boundless splendor of luxury. While America 
arising in the Zenith of Intellect, and transplanted from 
the lap of wealth and cradle of luxury, into a land yield- 
ing almost without labour, every object which can gratify 
desire ; luxury, scarcely sustained a check at her birth. 
It is a fact which the slightest gleanings in History will 
prove that in proportion as a Nation advances in extrava- 
gance and luxury the poor increase with accumulating 
misery — These facts should prompt us to adopt the policy 



154 Walker's Repokt, 1817. 

of our Government to the condition of our country. But 
we have without analogy of circumstances adopted the 
European Parochial policy. What Millions have Europe 
spent in mitigating the misery from poverty i And how 
far short has it fallen from accomplishing its object i Let 
the riots and tumults ; the cries for bread, the haggard 
look and the chilled nakedness answer ! ! Happy Ameri 
ca ! still happier Carolina ! you have not yet reached this 
achme of misery ! May the period of its arrival be far> 
very far distant ! ! ! But the history of other Nations, 
once abounding in rich redundant land like ours, and the 
rapid progress of population, which in our country as yet 
knows no check admonish us that the time is approachiag ; 
nay if we look at our Parochial list we shall find it ap- 
proaching alarmingly fast. A few years ago there was 
not a beggar in America, but a short time past our pau- 
pers were so few as not to claim more than voluntary 
neighborhood charity, — ISTow they have increased so rapid 
ly as to claim the attention of our courts, and parish levies 
are annually collected for their support. And it is equally 
a melancholy fact that larger sums of money are now 
exj)ended in raising orphan and pauper children in igno- 
rance and want, and too often in vice, than would be re- 
quired, under a more judicious policy, to raise and intro- 
duce them to competency and virtue. 

These facts should stimulate us to improve upon the 
Eropean policy- — Let us prevent poverty, rather than ex- 
haust our genius and resources in relieving its distress. 
The Golden maxim "a grain of prevention is better than 
a pound of cure," is as applicable to parochial policy, as 
to clinical practice. Let us give them education. Let us 
The ignorant and therefore liffht their taper and oil their lamp — Education 

the poor fill the . . . . . 

j'"is- is to labor what oil is to the lamp — It will light them into 

the avenues which lead to honor, wealth and happiness ! ! 
Look the world over — who are more industrious than the 
poor ? Yet lamentable to be told ! who fills your paro- 



Walker's Report, 1817. 155 

chial houses and parishes with poverty and industry ? The 
poor. Who fills your Jails and Penitentiaries with con- 
victs ( The ignorant poor. Whence can this arise ? 
Surely from the want of knowledge and foresight in di- 
recting their lahor. Xuhi will be their labor and fruitless 
their toil, tho' exerted with the strength of an Anteus or a 
Herculecs, if not directed by judgment and foresight, the 
oft'spring of enlightened minds. And shall we not en- 
lighten their minds ^ Shall we not give them Education ? 
Xot that Aristotilian Education, which prepares the mind 
for disquisition and controversy, instead of thought and 
action, which stores the mind with antient song and fabled 
story, instead of things of men. — 

The greatest Logician of the past century has said ''the Sfdulies! 
great study of ]\Jan is Man": — Let us initiate them into 
this stuely : — Let us teach them the great moral lesson, 
which wdiile it points out the true relationship they bear 
to the objects around them teaches them, also, the great 
duties they owe to the Creator, to themselves, and their 
neighbors, (which teaches them the love of virtue and the 
detestation of vice : — which inculcates the practice of all 
the cardinal virtues of Prudence, Temperance, fortitude 
and justice. — Then we may disgrace our land with Work 
Llouses and Penitentiaries, with jails and gibbets; bul 
there will be no convicts — their walls may prove what the 
state of society once was ; the want of tenants, what it now 
is. There we may say witli the Poet: — 

'Tngenuas didiisse fideliter artes 
Emollet mores nee sinit esse feros." 

This is not hviK^'bede: — Various proofs of the solid itv <xovernments must 

_ _ ^ "■ take care to edu- 

of these positions, that Education will lessen crimes and '/"te the young: if 

i ' they would per- 

prevent pewerty, will arise from considerations drawn J^'i'^g^'''' *^*^™" 
from our social and moral nature : — That Man is a social 
animal, impelled to society, his history proves from its 
earliest day. Miserable wants be his situation, and abor- 



156 



Walker^s Report, 1817. 



The constitution 
of Nortli Carolina 
cited. 



Ediication the 
basis of virtue. 



tive the best gift of Is^ature, if, while irresistably led to 
form society, there was planted in his bosom principles 
which led to its destruction. If human society has been 
checkered by practices which threatened its existence, it 
has been because those governments which have been 
formed for its promotion, have not availed themselves of 
the due culture of those principles which led to their estab- 
lishment, but have every where preferred governing the 
human mind by fear and terror rather than leading it by 
social and moral principles. — Accordingly we find in all 
governments penalties and stripes; Jails and gibbets are 
the engines of the Law, directed against the adult, while 
the young are permitted unrestricted and unchecked to 
progress in those very practices which lead to those en- 
gines. And if at any time we have seen governments en- 
couraging the diffusion of learning, it has been that learn- 
ing which act on the side of avarice, and not on the side 
of sociability — 'that learning which taught to calculate 
pence, and not weigh consequences — which improved the 
head and neglected the heart. 

Is it not time to discard the habitude of imitation to 
such governments ? Is it not time to carry our constitu- 
tion into effect ? Does not the forty-first article of our 
constitution which is a monument of the wisdom and phi- 
lantliro]3hy of our fathers imperiously command that 
teachers shall be procured and paid by the publick to ena- 
ble them to teach at moderate prices? How much more 
becoming a free Republican government like ours to re- 
form j)ractice by the mild influence of a moral education, 
than by humbling the mind into submission by servile 
fear? 

How much more becoming such a government to pre- 
vent crimes, by presenting them in an odious light in an 
early education, than to rely alone on severe punishment ? 
Is not Education the basis of Virtue ? Is not Virtue the 
basis of morals ? And are not morals a surer basis to sub- 



Walker's Report, 1817. 157 

mission to the laws than abject fear 'i Can anything but 
education elevate the mind to the dignity of virtue ? Vir 
tue may be insj)ired, it can never be commanded : — 

All crimes proceed either from ignorance or tempta- Jfu^e ofmuch 
tion. — Charity for our species prompts us to believe that ^'"'^®' 
the greater portion of these crimes which checker society, 
spring from the first source. — -The substituting knowledge 
for ignorance, by removing the cause will remove the ef- 
fect. — And those crimes which spring from temptation 
will be annihilated, or very much lessened ; for it is the 
province of a moral education to curb the efflux of inordi- 
nate passions and desire, at once the fountain and food of 
temptation. 

Did this reasoning" stand in need of facts to support it, ^ , ^ 

they abound in the history of man — Take the renowned Socrates. 

Socrates among the Greeks, who was addicted, according 

to his Biographer, to every low and profligate vice: — Yet 

who ever more completely overcome his passions, by the 

principles of morality than Socrates ? Whose name shines 

through the mouldering pages of antiquity with brighter 

panegeric than his ? 

But whv confine ourselves to individual examples ? Example of Scot- 
land and SwitEer- 
Whole, nations bear testimony, w^hat education will do in i^nd. 

preventing poverty and correcting vice. The benevolent 
Howard, who travelled over Europe to assuage the pain 
from vice, and mitigate the misery from poverty, aflirms 
that he found fewer jails in Scotland and Switzerland, 
than in any other country in Europe. And that he every- 
where found the peasantry poor, vicious, and miserable in 
proportion as they were ignorant, — All geographers and 
travellers tell us that the peasantry in Scotland and Swit- 
zerland are better educated than in any other country in 
Europe. Hence the disparity between poverty and vice, 
in these countries, compared with the rest of Europe. 
Let us compare the state of poverty and vice between 
Scotland and Endand. In Scotland, whose bleak Cala- 



158 



Walker^s Report, 1817, 



Crime less in Scot- 
laud than England. 



(Ionian Hills, witliont improvement from edncation, would 
scarcely afford habitation to man or hybernation to beast 
— yet here it is calculated that not more than one in forty 
derive assistance from charity. — Whilst in the rich irri- 
gated vales of England, the mother of agriculture, the 
father of manufactories, and the mistress of commerce, it 
is calculated that one in seven are relieved by charity. 

The disparity between the crimes of the tw^o countries, 
is still more apparent: — In Scotland it is calculated, that 
not more than one in Sixty Thousand is criminal — while 
in England it is computed that one in sixteen are crimi- 
nals. These facts speak louder than volumes in praise of 
popular education. 
^x°emp^ herself''''" I^^ortb Carolina has advantages which should prompt 
poverty by educa- her to emulate this happy state of exemption from vice 
and poverty, by disseminating education among the poor. 
She has no large towns from which eminate like the radii 
of a circle, Luxury, poverty and vice. Genius and for- 
tune are more equally divided among her citizens — this 
real or apparent equanimity of circumstances is peculiarly 
favorable to the practice of those virtues, which honor the 
head and adorn the heart ; and I cannot pass this part of 
the subject, without congratulating my fellow citizens on 
their general practice of these virtues ; and adding my 
limited testimony, that fewer crimes are committed in 
Carolina, than in an equal population, on either side of the 
Atlantic. 

Influenced by these reasons which are suggested by 
charity, and plead by patriotism and humanity, I beg the 
liberty of recommending to the Legislature the adoption 
forthwith, of a system of public education, which promises 
universality in extent, facility in execution and economy 
in practice, contained in the subjoined resolutions. 

1st. That three classes of one hundred and eighty six 
young men, between the age of fifteen and twenty years 
be annually and successiyely taught and prepared to teach 



Plan of education. 



Three classes 186 
young men to 
be educated to 
teach. 



Walker's Report, 1817. 159 

reading, writing. Arithmetic, English Grammar, Elements 
of Geometry, and Moral phylosophy at the public expense, 
they first giving bond to the Governor of the State for the 
time being, in the probable amount of the cost of their 
education, conditioned to teach in some county in thi:: 
State, three years, at the moderate price of $8 per scholar, 
with liberty to enter into any other pursuit, after rec<?iv- 
ing their education, by cancelling their bond or so mucli 
as remains due, in proportion to the time tliey wish to 
avoid teaching. The first class to commence in 1818, or 
as soon thereafter as convenient. The second class 12 
months after the first, and the third class 12 months there- 
after. 

2d. That the overseer of the Poor, in each and everv "verst'crsofthe 

• ]K>or to select poor 

county, be instructed to enter each and every parishioner ^^^^g^^'^ '-'*' ^'^^"" 

and pauper, between the age of 10 and 15 years, whose 

jDarents or next of kin are unable to pay the moderate 

price of tuition, to such schools as may be thus established 

in their neighborhood ; and that they be directed to pay 

such charges, as parish charges have heretofore been paid. 

3d. That the first Court of Pleas and Quarter Scs- Boani of literature 
sions held in 1818, in each county appoint not less than torec(immend 

,.,,.' . , young men. 

5 or more than 12 prudent, intelligent men, m the respec- 
tive counties who shall constitute a Board of Literature, 
to continue in office 3 years, and who shall have power to 
fill vacancies, occasioned by resignation, death or removal, 
and whose duty it shall be to invite and recommend intel- 
ligent young men, of their respective counties to enter into 
the above class, to take their bonds as above conditioned, 
and transmit them to the clerk's office, in their respective 
counties: And further it shall be their duty to superin- 
tend and to aid the general operation of this plan. 

4th. It shall be the dutv of this Board of Literature District trustees 

of pul)lic Instruc- 

a]u:)ointed as above, at their first meeting to elect one of t'on composed of 

^ ^ ^ county boards to 

their mduliers, wlio shall constitute with others similarly ^o°^^\<j,\|^hooj^to 
elected in each conntv. in the district, a Board of Trus- 



160 



Walker^s Eepokt, 1817- 



Each judicial dis- 
trict to have one 
school, cost to be 
paid out of public 

treasury. 



tees of Public Instruction, for their respective districts; 
who shall receive a commission from the Gov"" of this 
State for the time being, investing them v^^ith similar 
power and rights as have already been granted by law to 
Trustees of Literary Institutions, investing them with the 
additional power to select the scites within their district 
where the said Literary establishments shall be located : 
to contract for a house suited to the above purposes ; to 
employ teachers ; to superintend the Stewarts department ; 
and all other powers necessary to carry the above object 
into operation. It shall further be the duty of said Board 
of Trustees to report to the Governor of the State the 
condition and progress of said schools under their charge 
annually; to grant diplomas, or certificates of proficiency 
in a neat elegant style, on parchment or vellum paper, to 
such scholars as are prepared to teach. And it shall fur- 
ther be the duty of the said Board of Trustees, semi-annu- 
ally to lay before the Gov. for the time being, a statement 
of the amount necessary for the institution over which 
they shall preside, and it shall be the duty of the Governor 
to issue his warrant to the Treasurer for the amount that 
shall appear to be requisite. 

5th. That a school for the reception of this class be 
established in each Judicial District of this State, appor- 
tioning to each school a proportionate number of Scholars, 
according to the population of each District, and the 
Stewart's department be furnished and supplied out of the 
Public Treasury. Supposing it will require 3 years to 
prepare each class to teach, and by thus establishing the 
schools for their tuition, the cost of the State is not ex- 
pected to exceed $50 the first year per scholar; ^40 the 
second ; $30 the third and succeeding years. Upon this 
supposition, the subjoined table will show the amount of 
cost, and the extent of operation of this plan 



Walker's Eepoet, 1817. 



161 





'^ ./ 




o £, 




u cS 




?^o 




S'S 


-ji 


o3 


:3CO 






U 


Z 






1818 
1819 
1820 
1821 
1822 
1823 



1 


186 


9 


372 


; 3 


558 


1 3 


372 


! 3 


186 


3 

1 
i 


186 



o 



§9, 3U0 
14, 880 
16, 740 
11,160 
5. 580 
Diito 






"/^ 



186 
372 

558 



SH 



^-I 




05 (D 




03 cJ 


>. 






nber 
aught 


oPh 


5<:r- 1 


Z 


/^ 



25 
25 
25 



; 4, 650 

9, 3U0 

13, 950 



57,660 I per Scholar 11.24 



13, 950 
18, 600 
13, 950 



46, 500 



This ta]ile does not credit for 1,558 teachers which ought to be 
added to the number of 46,500 youths taught, whicii would reduce 
the i)rice to §1.22 each for three years' tuition, or 40 cents annually 
to the State. 

Your Commissioner beffs leave to make a few remarks Remarks. .u 

^ economy ot the 

on the foregoing Table and Plan of Education, 1st. On i'!">i- 
the economy of the plan, (a) When it is recollected that 
such is the benign influence of the Christian religion, 
which so happily pervades our country; that it cannot be 
doubted that there is a religious denomination in our 
Country, possessing commodious meeting houses in each 
district who would refuse tendering them, to the board 
of Trustees of Publick Instruction, to be converted into 
Academies at the moderate price of building chimnies. 

And when it is also recollected the facility and cheap- 
ness with which commodious log houses can be built in 
th( ir vicinity for the accommodation of their classes, it 
cannot be supposed that the expense of educating these 
classes will exceed the amount expressed in the Table. 
From v\diich amoimt, it is evident that for $57,660, ex- 
pended in five years, the state will have taught 558 teach- 
ers in whose services the State will have an interest for 
three years, and 46,500 scholars, which to the state will 
not exceed $1.22 each for three years tuition. Educa- 
tion is never communicated except through teachers ; the 
State therefore, if she promotes education, must either 
11 



1G2 



Walker\s Report, 1817. 



Remarks on facil- 
ity in operation. 



' 'DiflFusable opera- 
tion" of thie 1)1 an. 



other remarks on 
the phiii. 



raise her teachers or hire them, where they can be foimd , 
if tlie hitter, it will be a moderate calculation, to estimate; 
the salaries she will be obliged to give, to obtain such tal- 
ents and learning, as she ought to encourage in teaching 
at $500 each — if she hires 558 teachers, then, even for one 
year, it will cost her $279,000. 

2d. Its facility in operation. — The beneficial opera- 
tion of this plan will be felt in the fourth year, when the 
first class leaves school ; and commences teaching, by be- 
ginning that competition which will be completed in the 
fifth and sixth year, wdien all the classes will be in opera- 
tion, which will keep it securely up after the first impedi- 
ment is removed. For it is the fond hope and expecta- 
tion of your Commissioner, that by educating such a vast 
number of youths whose talents might have wasted 
their blossoms in the desert air, abilities will be unfolded 
which will qualify and prompt their possessors for future 
teachers, and consccpiently all future expense to the State 
will be saved. 

3d. Its diifusable operation. — In turning out these 
young teachers, stimulated by the never slumbering pas- 
sion, self-interest, under the unerring guide of moral 
obligation they will penetrate into the remotest corner of 
every county, in searching for schools. They will be in- 
vited, and their schools will be profitable in proj)ortion to 
their talents, skill and assiduity. — This is a strong guar- 
antee to the plan. 

It is impossible to do justice to the principle or its de- 
tail in these few lines — But your honorable body will 
redily perceive that should the expense be incurred, and 
the State disappointed in receiving the services of I heir 
teachers, it is manifest that the money will have been 
loaned to indigent young men for the acquirement of an 
education, they could not possibly acquire without its aid. 
For when it is considered that the disabilities which con- 
stitute the difforence betwren minor and adult aii'e, in civil 



Walker's Report, 1817. 163 

law are imposed for the benefit of the minor, the purchas- 
ing, under the condition herein proposed, an education 
which will introduce him into a profession, honorable and 
lucrative, and not like other professions and trades over- 
stocked — they will not hesitate to remove the disability of 
the minor, to give his bond for this particular object — and 
if the Legislature deem it necessary the bond may be 
taken with security, to bear interest — But should the plan 
go into operation, its advantages should be incalculable. 
Shall we estimate its value by comparing it with other 
systems of ^^opidar education ''i While all which have 
heretofore been proposed has been limited to the poorer 
classes of citizens this will benefit all ; the rich as well as 
the poor, by turning out such a number of decent young 
men who are master teachers, in the most useful branches 
of learning, to find schools wherever they are wanted : — 
Or shall we calculate its value by saving of money to the 
State ? The average price of Tuition is now $15 or $20 
per Scholar: this scheme will reduce it to $8 to the parent, 
and -to cts. to the State, thereby saving $11.60 ets. on 
every scholar. Tbe scheme proposes to educate 46,500 ^,.,,p^j].^ji,,j^gj^Q^^,. 
children, $11.60 cts. saved on each scholar, will be a clear p|f,|^wYii"save me 
saving to the state of $539,4-00. — Or shall we look around ^^^' 
on the rising generation to estimate its value ? What per- 
fect forms — whar sparkling ejcs, — what sprightly minds 
do we see destined by the hard grasp of poverty, to linger 
in the dust, unless elevated by education. Or shall we 
look around on the aged to behold the sad effects of the 
want of ediTcation ^ See the growing list of parishioners 
hanging on the cold hand of frigid charity ! How differ- 
ent their situation would have been, had half the sums 
which are now given them in alms, been bestowed on them 
in an early charitable education ? See the multiplication 
of vices and crimes keeping puce with the declension of 
learning in our State ! View the criminal hurried heed- 
lesslv and uncalled for l^efore his God ! bv those laws 



164 Walker s Eepoet, 1817. 

which pimish, but do not prevent crimes. Wliat would 
his destiuj have been, had his mind, in early youth, been 
enlightened by the moral precepts of a moral Education ? 
All of which is respectfully submitted by 

JoHisr M. Walker, 
one of the Commissioners on the Plan of Public Educa- 
tion. 
December 6th, 1817. 

— Unytihl'islied Legislative Documents, 1817. 

Senate resolution ^, , . >- t~> • i r" tt 

to print Walker's luesday, December 9, 1817. Keceived from the House 

report. "^ 

of Commons a report made by John M. Walker, one of the 
commissioners on the plan of p'ublick education, accom- 
]:)aiiied by the following message from the House of Com- 
mons : 

Mr. Speaker — The report on the plan of publick educa- 
tion prepared by John M. Walker, in obedience to a reso- 
lution of the last General Assembly herewith sent, we pro- 
pose shall be printed for information, one copy for each 
member of the General Assembly. 

The forgoing being read. Ordered that the following 
message in answer thereto be sent to the House of Com- 
mons. 

Mr. Speaker — We agree that the report or plan of edu- 
cation proposed by John M. Walker, shall be printed for 
information, one copy for each member of the General 
Assembly as proj^osed by you. 

— Senate Journal, 1S17-18, p. 67. 



5. MURPHEl'S BILL TO DIFFUSE KNOWLEDGE. 

Tuesday, December ICy, 1817. Mr. Murpliej handed 
in the following report : 

The committee on public instruction, report a bill to ,^™;!;|,^,!:°"V"iiv® 
provide for the general diffusion of knowledge, by estab- a bm t! L-st!ibVisV" 
lishing schools in all parts of the state and recommend the 
same to be passed into a law. 
Respectfully submitted, 

A. D. MuRPHEY^ Cli'm. 

The house taking the foregoing report into consider a- Bin introduced, 
tion. Resolved, that they do concur therewith. Where- 
upon Mr. Murphey introduced a bill to provide for the 
general diffusion of kni»\vledge by establishing schools h\ 
all parts of the state ; which being read was passed for the 
first reading in this house and sent to the House of Com 
mons. 

—Senate Jouriicd, 1817-18, pp. 88-89. 

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 1817'. Received from the Sen- House passes the 

«^ ' " Senate bill on tirst 

ate the report of the committee on public instructi(m re- ''^''^'^^"s. 
commending the passage of a lull formerly a part of the 
report, entitled a bill to provide for the general diffusion 
of knowdedge by establishing schools in all parts of the 
State. The report was concurred wdth, and the bill 
recommended read the first time passed and returned to 
the Senate with the report.^ 

—House Journal, 1817-18, p. 69. 



^ There is no further record of this bill in the journals of either 
house. I have not been able to find a copy of the bill. C. L. C. 

165 



6. FEMALE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF WILMINGTON. 

Wilmington ^ovr. 7tb. 1817 

To the Ilonbl : the Senate and house of Eepresentatives of 
the State of N. Carolina 
^.roraou*'e™ra^ Wheveas a Society has been established in this place, 

otirjrpoor'chii.ren ^^ the name of the "Female Benevolent Society of Wil- 
mington X. Carolina"' whose object is "to secure to poor 
children and destitute orphans, a moral and religious, as 
well as a common education; and besides furnishing with 
such education, to adopt, support, and provide with situa- 
tions that are useful, and not unfavorable to virtue, such 
cliildren, as, in the opinion of the Soeiety, stand most in 
need of their patronage." 
Ask to be allowed And whcrcas they can neither ado])t children, nor hold 

to hold property -J i ' 

and adopt children, f^^^nds or property, ill a corporate capacity, untill they are 
recognized as such, by law: they beg leave to solicit Your 
Honorable Body for an act of incorporation. And your 
Petitioners, as bound, will ever pray 

Eliza Lord 1st Directress 
]\Iary L. Oeme Secy. 

— From UnpahUslied Legislative Documents, 1817. 



16G 



7. LOTTERY FOK SMITHVILLE ACADE3IY REFUSED, 

Whereas it is represented to this General Assembly that 
certain liberal and well disposed persons have subscribed 
snms of money for the purpose of erecting a school house 
or academy at the Town of Smithville, and that the sub- 
scriptions would be increased if it appeared probable that 
an adequate fund for erecting a proper building and sup- 
porting the same could be raised: Therefore, to encour- 
age an undertaking so laudable, which may be highly ben- 
eficial to the inhabitants of the county of Brunswick, and 
produce advantages more extensive hereafter, 

I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State Ask to raise s8,(k>o 

"^ _ _ '' by lottery. 

of Xorth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the au- 
thority of the same. That the Trustees of the said Acade- 
my, established by the General Assembly and under the 
authority of the same, shall have power, and they are 
hereby permitted to raise the sum of eight thousand dol- 
lars by a lottery or lotteries as they or a majority of them 
residing in the counties of Brunswick, ]S[ew Haiiover, 
and Bladen, shall derm most proper, and that the said 
Trustees or a majority from the counties aforesaid, being 
present shall appoint seven commissioners for the purpose 
of opening and completing a scheme or schemes of lottery 
or lotteries, calculated to raise the sums aforesaid, in 
which there shall not be more than two Blanks to a prize, 
and the said Commissioners shall be managers of said Lot- 
tery and accountable for the prizes and profits thereof, 
any three of said commissioners being competent to trans- 
act business. 

II. And be it further enacted, — That when three- when drawing to 

begin. 

fourths of the said tickets are sold the drawing of said 
lottery shall commence under the management of said 
commissioners, any three of them being present, they giv- 
ing thirty days notice in the Wilmington paper and one of 

the papers in the City of Ealeigh. 

167 



commissioners 



168 LoTTEKY Kefused^ 1817. 

Payment of prizes. m. gg it further eiiacted, That all prizes shall be 
paid in sixty days after the drawing is finished, upon de- 
mand of the possessor of a fortunate ticket; which prize 
shall be subject to a deduction of fifteen per cent, and if 
such prize is not demanded within six months after the 
drawing is finished, of which public notice shall be given 
in the Wilmington paper or one of the papers in the City 
of Raleigh, the same shall be considered as relinquished 
for the benefit of said Academy ; and the nett profits of 
said lottery or lotteries shall be vested in the Trustees of 
said Academy, for the use of said Academy, that the said 
Commissioners shall fix the days of drawing said lottery 
or lotteries except the first day of drawing, which shall 
commence as herein stipulated. 

Bond of lottery TV. Be it further enacted. That before the commis- 

sioners appointed as aforesaid shall begin to act in pur- 
suance of this law, they shall enter into bond with security 
to be judged sufficient by the County Court of Brunswick 
County, for the sum of eight thousand pounds, payable to 
the chairman of the said Court and his successors, wliicli 
bond shall be void on condition that they, the Commis- 
sioners ajjpointed as aforesaid, shall well and truly per- 
form the Trust reposed in them, that is to say, that they 
will without fraud, delay or other deductions than the 
fifteen per cent, therein prescribed, pay to every fortunate 
adventurer in said lottery or lotteries, the prizes he or she 
shall draw therein, in the time before mentioned and fur- 
ther, that the said Commissioners shall fully and faith- 
fully account for all the profits which shall arise from the 
Lottery or Lotteries aforesaid, deducting therefrom, the 
necessary expenses in six months after the drawing of the 
same to the said Court on the continuing the same, and 
that the said commissioners shall deposit the nett amount 
arising from said lottery or lotteries in the Wilmington 
Branch of the State Bank of Xorth Carolina subject only 
to be drawn for the use of said academv. and bv an order 



LoTTEHY Refused^ 1817. 169 

passed b}^ the trustees of said Academy, a certified copy of 
said order shall he sufficient to authorize the Treasurer of 
said Academy to check on said Bank for the amount 
therein stated ; that a certificate from the cashier of said 
Bank stating the amount deposited by the Commissioners 
for the use of the Academy shall be satisfactory evidence 
to the Court for the amount deposited by them. 

V. Be it further enacted, That if the commissioners '^"jt "^^y be in- 

' stituted to compel 

appointed as aforesaid, fail to perform any part of the ;i"'fjjg-f^\y"yy* ^" 
condition of said Bond, any person aggrieved by such fail- 
ure may without assignment bring suit on said bond in 
the name of the chairman of said Court, in any Court of 
record within this State having cognizance thereof, and 
all such sums recovered thereon shall be to the use of the 
person or persons who shall so bring suit, and the said 
Bond shall be lodged with the Clerk of the County Court 
of Brunswick County, who shall keep the same as part of 
the records of the Court aforesaid. 

In House of Commons Dec. 18, 1817: Read the first 
time and passed. 

In Senate Dec. 18, 1817: Read and rejected. Rejected. 

— Uiipuhlislied Dociimcmts, 1S17. 



1818 

1. GOV. BRANCH'S IVIESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

3. MARTIN'S BILL TO ESTABLISH SCHOOLS. 

4. SLAVES MAY BE TAUGHT TO READ AND WRITE. 



170 



1. GOV. JOHJf BRANCH'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

When we reflect on the lethargy which has pervaded our [;,'v^'|i°i,^f."^™c"il)n 
state and enchained her energies until a few months past, !ff'em'^|ration.^''* 
and the manner in which our physical resources have been 
suffered to lie dormant for the want of a moderate portion 
of energy in the Legislature to elicit and call them into 
action, and at the same time take into consideration the 
extraordinary excitement of public feeling at the present 
time, I am persuaded that with me you will be fully sen- 
sible of the more than ordinary' responsibility under which 
you are placed. 

The impulse from public sentiment is too strong to be 
mistaken, and requires only a proper direction and organi- 
zation of the representatives of the peoj)le, to arrest the 
progress of emigration, and to render our state in an emi- 
nent degree prosperous, and our citizens contented and 
happy. 

In a government like ours where the sovereignty resides The people should 

^ o 1/ ])^, enlightened, 

ill the people, and where all power eminates from, and at fio\\au,i'j°visi\m^^^^^ 
stated periods, returns to them for the purpose of being I'aiTied^om^""^''"'^ 
again delegated, it is of the last importance to the well 
being and to the existence of Government, that the public 
mind should be enlightened. 

Permit me, therefore, to refer you in a particular man- 
ner to this solemn injunction contained in the Constitu- 
tion of the State of North Carolina, Art. XLI. "That a 
school or schools shall be established by the Legislature 
for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries 
to the masters, to be paid by the public, as may enable- 
them to instruct at low prices, and all useful learning shall 
be duly encouraged in one or more Universities." 

Let it be recollected that bv this chart we are bound as Education is a 

snl)|ect ot highest 

the servants of the people under the solemnities of an r")],"'bff,"," 

oath, to steer the vessel of state ; and when we connect 

171 



e to a 
g-overn- 
mt'iit. 



172 Gov. Branch s Message, 1818. 

this imperious duty with the luminous and impressive 
appeals which have been so often made to the Legislature 
for the last year or two, I apprehend that nothing that I 
could add would impart additional force. It surely wall 
not be denied that it is a subject of all others in a republi- 
can government, of the most vital importance : for it is in 
this way and this alone, that our Republican institutions 
can be perpetuated, or that radical changes can be effected 
in the morals and manners of the people. 

— House Journal, IS 18. 



2, ASSEMBLY C0M3IITTEES OX EDUCATION. 

Senate Committee on Education : William Martin, Pas- senate committee 

' oneaueation. 

qnotank ; Richard T. Brownrigg, Chowan ; Hodge Eay- 
bnrne, Haywood. 

— Senate Journal, ISIS, p. 10. 

House Committee on Education : R. M. Sanders, Cas- House committee 
well ; David F. Caldwell, Iredell ; Willie P. Mangum, 
Orange. 

— House Journal, ISIS, p. 16. 



173 



3. MARTIN'S BILL TO ESTABLISH SCHOOLS. 



Jlartin's hill passes 
first reading in the 
Senate and is 
ordered printed. 



Martin's bill passes 
the House. 



Martin's bill passes 
second reading in 
Senate, by vote of 
53 to 2, the ayes 
and noes being re- 
corded. 



Saturday, Dec. 12, 1818. Mr. Martin, from the com- 
mittee on public instruction reported a bill to establish 
and regulate schools in the several counties of this state ; 
which being read was passed for the first reading in the 
Senate and sent to the House of Commons. Resolved by 
the Senate that this bill be printed, one copy for each 
member of this General Assembly. Sent for concurrence. 

— Senate Journal, 1818, p. 6'.4. 

Monday, Dec. 14, 1818. Eeceived from the Senate the 
report of the committee on public instruction, concurred 
with, recommending the passage of a bill to establish and 
regulate schools in the several counties in this State. 

The report was concurred in and the bill recommended 
read the first time, passed and returned to the Senate. 

— House Journal, ISIS, pp. 69-70. 

Friday, Dec. 18, 1818. The Senate now entered on 
the order of the day, when the bill to establish and regu- 
late schools in the several counties in this state, being read 
and amended, and the question was "'shall this bill pass 
for the second reading in the Senate ?" upon which ques- 
tion the yeas and nays were called for, and are thus : 

For the passage of the bill are Messrs. Atkinson, Albrit- 
ton, Brownrigg, Bethune, Benton, Baker, Bruton, Boon, 
Hall, Hill, Daniel Jones, JST. Jones, Kelly of Moore, Kelly 
of Camden, Kenan, Leonard, Marshall, Brown, Bethell^ 
Banner, Calloway, Caldwell, Collins, Campbell, Dudley, 
Davis, Davidson of Montgomery, Davidson of Mecklen- 
burg, Dobson, Eliorne. Felton, Fisher, Grist, Glisson, 
Green, Gaston, jMurphey, Martin, McLeod, McKinnie, 
O'Kelly, Phifer, Pierce, Rayborn, Reid, Riddick, Speight, 
Steed, Tate, Tarkenton, Williams, Wellbome— 53. 



174 



Marty's Bill to Establish Schools, 18 IS. 175 

Against the passage of the bill are Messrs. Alston, 
Johnston, 2. 

So the bill was passed for the second reading and sent 
to the House of Commons. 

— Senate Journal 1818, p. 82. 

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1818. Eeceived from the Senate the ^fjj^*^f>^^};i ^'^^'^ 
bill to establish and regulate schools in the several coun- ^°"'''- 
ties in his state ; which was read the second time, and post- 
poned indefinitely. 

— House Journal, 1818, p. 98. 

A Bill to establish and eegulate Schools in the 
Several counties of this State, 

One or more imblic 

I. That the Justices of the Several Courts of ■ Pleas ^:;|!;;:,;thefun each 
and Quarter Sessions in this State if they shall deem it c^ounty'eom-'^^^' ''^ 
expedient may at the first court which shall be holden in 
their respective counties, after the first day of April next 
or at any subsequent court. Seven Justices being on the 
Bench, order and direct the establishment of one or more 
publick Schools in each Captain's District in their said 

'- '- _ Oonrt to appoint 

counties and appoint five persons of competent skill and ^gho*^/'or*!,',yhoois''^ 
ability to act as Directors of the said Schools ; which Di- '" '^'^°'' district. 
rectors shall have charge and management of the School 
fund of their espcctive counties, and shall continue in the 
appointment for the space of one year ; when the said 
courts shall respectively renew their appointment or ap- 
point others in their stead. And in case the said courts 
shall neglect to make such appointment at the end of the 
year the said Directors shall continue in their office, until 
another shall be made. A Maioritv of the Directors shall record of proceed- 

" ings and render an 

be competent to act, and thev shall keep a regular account account of funds 

- ' " J- o {,, county court. 

of their proceedings, and annually submit the same, with 
an account of the state of the school fund, and the schooh' 
under their charge, to their respective county courts. The 



176 Martin's Bill to Establish Schools, 1818. 

Directors shall meet together every three months or 
of tener if necessary ; they shall elect one of their body to 
act as President thereof, who shall have power to cause a 
meeting, whenever he may think proper. 
Directors given II. Be it further enacted that whenever a school house 

power to declare , n , i n t c i c 

wiiat school houses shall be crectcd or leased lor the term ot two vears in any 

shall be public ... . "^ 

school houses. Captain's District, the person erecting or leasing the same 
may make it known to the Directors of Schools in said 
county and the said Directors may acknowledge the same 

Three trustees to as a Dublic Scliool Housc ; aiid thereupon they shall ap- 

be appointed tiir J- ' . . 

'^"•'iM'"i'"vt!^'J.'r'' point three discreet persons to act as Trustees of said 

wiin powci U-) till- A J- 

^ndflimtesof school : which Trustccs OT a Majority of them shall he 
authorised to iniploy a Teacher for the said school, pre- 
scribe rules and regulations for the Government of said 
School, the rates of Tuition, ask and receive the tuition 
money, a regular account of which they shall keep and 
submit at the end of each year to the Directors aforesaid. 

Trustees to desig- Tlicv shall designate such poor children in their neigh- 

nate poor children ^ o j. 

to be taught free, bourhood, as they shall think ought to be taught free of 

any charge and submit to the said Directors at the end of 

each year a list of their names and ages as near as may be. 

Salary of ffioo a HI. Be it further enacted that the Salarv of one Hun- 

year inav lie jiaid " 

of puhii'c'"fuu.i'"^ ^^^^ Dollars may be paid out of the School Fund to the 
Teachers of each of the said schools, by the Director.^ 
aforesaid, and two thirds of the Tuition money shall also 
be paid the said Teachers. The other third shall be paid 
by the Trustees of the School to the said Directors ; and 
the Teacher shall be bound to teach free of any charge 
such poor children as the Trustees shall designate. 

Taxofasmuehas IV. Be it further euactcd that for purpose of creating 

10 cents im each . .. f ^ r^ £ 

siiio vahiatiiinand a scliool I uud 111 cacli couuty the J usticcs ol the Court ot 

50 cents on each 

poll may be levied Pleas and Quarter Sessions of said countv may and thev 

to create a school ^ o <j >.■ 

*'"'"^- are hereby authorized to levy annually and cause to be 

collected as other Taxes a Tax not exceeding fifty cents 
on each poll, and ten cents on each hundred Dollars value 
of real estate ; which money shall be paid by the sheriff 



Martin's Bill to Establish Schools, 1818. 177 

to the county Trustee ; and one third of the tuition money 

aforesaid shall also be paid over by the Directors of the 

public Schools in said counties to the said Trustee ; and 

the said monies shall be drawn in favour of Teachers of 

Schools in said county upon the order of the President of 

the said Directors. 

V. Be it further enacted that the Trustees of each Books and station- 
ary to be furnish- 
school shall purchase Books and stationarv for the use of ed poor c'hiidren 

i ' free by the trustees. 

poor children, who are to be taug'ht free of charge, and be 
allowed the same in settlement of their accounts. 

The committee on Public Instruction report the accora- Report of eom- 
j)aning Bill, entitled a Bill to establish and regulate 
Schools in the several counties in this State, and recom- 
mend the same to be passed into a law. 
Respectfully submitted, 

13th Dec. 1818. W. Martin, Chm. 

— From UnpiiblisJied Legislative Doemnents, 1818. 



12 



4. SLAVES MAT BE TAUGHT TO READ AND WHITE. 

A Bill to prevent all persons from teaching slaves to 
read and write, the use of figures excepted. 

Be it enacted by the General iVssembly of !N"orth Caro- 
lina and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, 
That any person who shall hereafter teach or attempt to 
teacli any slave within this State to read or write, the 
use of figures excepted shall be liable to indictment in any 
court of record in this State and upon conviction shall be 
fined at the discretion of the Court not less than ($50) 
fifty dollars, nor more than ($100) one hundred dollars or 
imprisoned. 

And be it further enacted, that the Judges of the Supe- 
rior Courts and the Justices of the County Courts shall 
e-ive this act in charge to the o-rand Juries of their re- 
spective Courts.^ 

Clerk's entry: In House of Commons 11th Deer. 181S 
Eead the first time and rejected. ' 

— From Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1S18. 



'Introduced bv Wm. B. Mears, of Wilmington. 



178 



1819 

1. GOVERNOR BRANCH'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

3. SOME SYSTEM OF PUBLIC EDUCATION URGED. 

4. EDUCATION REPORT OF 1819. 



179 



Eflncation i if youth 
claims jire-cmi- 
nencc almvr all 
other questions. 



The schools are 
laiisuishina-. 



1. GOV. JOHN BRANCH'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

And in the first place as claiming a pre-eminence above 
all others, allow me to call your attention to the subject 
of education of youth, the only durable basis of every- 
thing valuable for a government of the people, and to press 
on your attention the moral and political obligations which 
you are under, created and imposed by the solemn injunc- 
tions of the Constitution, to patronize and encourage a 
general diffusion of knowledge: for when we advert to 
the langTiishing condition of some of our nurseries of sci- 
ence, and observe the apathy which prevails in regard to 
their advancement, it becomes a subject of no less aston- 
ishment than regret. It is the boast of a republican gov- 
ernment that all men are born equal ; but what is it that 
keeps them so 'I On a proper solution of this question de- 
pends the perpetuation of the liberties of this and every 
other free government — Let the few monopolize the sci- 
ence of the country, and they at once monopolize its sover- 
eignty. 

— Hovse Journal, 1819. 



180 



2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

Senate Commitee on Education : Benjamin F. Haw- senate committee 
kins, Franklin ; Emanuel Shober, Stokes ; John Owen, 
Bladen. 

— Senate Journal 1S10, p. 13. 

House Committee on Education: Richard D. Spaight, House committee 
Craven; Micajah T. Hawkins, Warren; John Hill, "" ^'^"^^"'^^^• 
Stokes. 



-House JoM-nal, 1819, p. 15. 



LSI 



3. SOME SYSTEM OF PUBLIC EDUCATION URGED. 

Public sentiment Education. — Some exertions have been made at former 
lishmeut of public sossions of the Legislature for the establishment of a gen- 
eral system of education thronghout the State. There is, 
we believe, a prevailing wish among the citizens of North 
Carolina, that such a measure should be adopted — some 
difference of opinion, however, exists as to the means best 
calculated to carry it into effect. Objections may be made 
to every plan that has been proposed; and indeed, it is 
somewhat difficult to devise any plan that shall be com- 
pletely adapted to every purpose that may be exepected to 
be embraced in a system of education. The leading ob- 
ject is the establishment of free schools, by which the 
children of the poor, as well as the rich, may be furnished 
with the means of acquiring, at least, the rudiments of 
Sparse population uscful learning. A thin population, extended over a large 

renders any plans 

'^^n^in^-n^ATtl territory, may, in some parts of the state, render the ap- 
of the state. plication of the system impracticable; and it may, per- 

Diversity of haps, be matter of doubt whether it would be better to ap- 

oplnion as to the 

means of support propriate a specific fund or a particular source of revenue 

of schools. J- r X i 

for the support of free schools, or w^hether it would be 
more expedient to endow the several academies under the 
stipulation that schools should be established and main- 
tained by the respective institutions. These, however, are 
minor considerations, and ought not to create objections 
to the principal question. The members of the assembly 
should first decide whether they are willing to form any 
system for the instruction of the rising generation — it 
may then be proper to discuss the details of its organiza- 
tion, 
riacing education I^ ^^^ Statesman would render himself useful to the 
oV!in"ciasle?the pcoplo for whom he legislates ; if he Avould confer an im- 
statesman. portaut and lasting benefit on their posterity, he should 

be aware that he cannot more certainly, or more effectu- 

182 



Some System of Public Education Ukged. 183 

ally promote his benevolent purposes than by placing the 
means of education within the reach of all classes of his 
fellow citizens. * * * 

— From Blal-ely (N. C.) Gazette, copied in Raleigh 
Begister, Sept. 10, 1819. 



i. EDUCATION REPORT OF 1819. 

Senate action on Monday, Dec. 20, 1819 — Mr. Shober from the commit- 

Shober's report. , 

tee on that part of the Governor's message respecting edu- 
cation, made a detailed report; which being read, was 
concurred Avith by the Senate and sent to the House of 
Commons. 

— Senate Journal ISIV, p. 89. 

House action on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1819. — Eeceived from the Senate 

the report of the committee on that part of the Governor's 
]\ressage, respecting education praying to be discharged 
from the consideration of the subject. The question to 
concur with the report, was determined in the affirmative. 

—House Journal, ISIO, p. S8. 
Diffusion of That the committee to wdiom was referred that part of 

knowledge of tirst 

importance. the Govemor's mossagc which respects education, beg 

leave to report, 

That they have given the subject that serious considef- 
ation which it merits ; that they are fully impressed with 
the truth, that the best and only durable cements of Ke- 
publican institutions, consists in a wide diifusion of 
knowledge, and that it behooves every citizen who has the 
triie interests and glory of his country at heart to aid and 

Work of private assist in this invaluable work. Your committee perceive 
with pleasure, that by individual exertion, much has been 
done in this great cause. Seminaries of learning have 
been formed in various parts of the State, others are still 
rearing, where human excellence is cultivated with suc- 
cess; and where many a youthful mind has attained, and 
many continue to receive that impulse to noble and virtu- 
ous actions, which not only renders them ornaments, but 
pillars to society, minds which perhaps for the want of 
those seminaries would have remained like marble in tlu- 

184 



seminaries. 



Education Report of 1819. 185 

quarry, useless to the world until it lias received the art- 
ist's polish. 

Your committee are convinced, however, that no svstem r>ii>errti ai.n.y 

' ^ "' state only means 

of education upon a general ])rincipal, can succeed and ^.^lucaUon^ ^"^"^"^^^ 
flourish, if dependent on individual exertion alone, and 
that it requires the strong and fostering hand of legisla- 
tive aid. They are satisfied that a parsimonious policy 
( u the part of the State, touching the great subject of edu- 
cation is but illy adapted to promote the true interest of 
the community, because they conceive, that without educa- 
tion, knowledge which tends to exalt a nation cannot be 
attained. The great objects to which the states of the 
Union lend their attention, is to establish Universities ; 
where the young men of the country having gone through 
Academical instruction, may finish their education. To 
enable these Universities to flourish, it is necessary that 
they should all be endowed, and v.diile it gives a pleasur- 
able sensation to see states vie with each other, to foster 
and render prosperous their respective establishments it 
creates a feeling far diiferent to see other states treat their 
nurseries with cold neglect ; and it gives your committee 
pain to say, although it is a melancholy fact, that the TTnh-ersity has 

„ I. -y^r ^ r-i T i ' i • i i meagre support 

btate 01 jNorth LaroJma stands among this latter class, from state. 
True it is, the state has done something towards their es- 
tablishment, but your committee beg leave to say, that in 
their opinion, the State has not done that which consider- 
ing its Avealth, and internal resources, it could do, which 
has caused the establishment to languish and drives the 
youth of the state in quest of education elsewhere. And 
your committee cannot refrain to mention, that but for 
individual aid and donations the University of JsTorth Car- 
olina Avould long ere this time, have sunk into indigence 
and want ; your committee fondly hope, however, and they 
beg leave most earnestly to recommend to the legislature 
to rescue the state from this charge, and to induce it t.- 
treat its offspring, with that paternal care which it merits. 
Your committee are sensible that Primarv Schools and 



186 



Education Report of 1819. 



No plan recom- 
mended. 

School fund sug- 
gested. 



Prafticabie plan Academies should not be neelected, because it is here that 

for primary schools 

greatly needed. ^}^g fj^st secds to Knowledge are sown, but no practical 
plan presents itself to them, where the state could be of 
direct aid. Your committee conceive that it should be of 
much importance ; nay, of incalculable benefit, if a prac- 
tical plan could be devised of establishing free schools, for 
the education of poor children, in the different counties of 
the state ; and although several phms have suggested them- 
selves, excellent in theory, yet your committee deem it in- 
expedient at this time, to recommend an experiment. Your 
committee beg leave further to report that they deem it 
advisable that a fund should be created, denominated the 
School Fund, which fund your committee conceive might 
be raised either by drawing it from the lands lately ac- 
quired from the Cherokee Indians or by appropriating a 
part of the stock holden by the state in the bank, which 
funds should be placed in the hands of a certain number 
of trustees, to be appointed by the General Assembly, and 
by the trustees thus appointed, vested in some productive 
stock, and that the profits arising from such stock should 
be applied to the purpose of education, either by throwing 
it to one or more points, or by distributing the same in 
due proportion to the counties generally, as the legislature 
may from time to time direct. Your committee conceive 
that much good would result from the plan proposed, and 
would tend, if wisely managed, to a national blessing; 
more particularly as it would yield a benefit without cre- 
ating a burden. Your committee, however, from the late 
period of the session, and from other reasons which they 
will not detail, refrain from introducing a digested plan 
by bill. And submitting these, their views, they beg leave 
to be discharged, etc., etc. 

Em^l. Shober, Chairman. 
In Senate, Dec. 20th, 1819. 

Itoad and resolved that this House concur therewith. 

B. Yancey, S. S. 
— Senate Journal , 1819-20, p. 119. 



1. POPULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 



187 



1. POPULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 

Kew Bern. Whites 1475 

Slaves 1920 

Free coloured 268 

Total 3G63 

Fayetteville. Whites 1918 

Slaves 1337 

Free coloured '. 277 

Total 3532 

Ealeigh. Whites .- 1177 

Slaves 1320 

Free coloured 177 

Total 2674 

Wilming-toii. Whites 1098 

Slaves 1433 

Free coloured 102 

Total 2633 

Edenton. Whites 634 

Slaves 860 

Free coloured 67 

Total 1561 

Salisbury. Whites 743 

Slaves 477 

Free coloured 14 

Total 1234 

188 



Population of Pkincipal Towjsts^ 1820. 189 

Washington. Whites 474 

Slaves 517 

Free cohjured 43 

Total 1034 

— Census 1S.20, in EaJeigh Eegister, Aug. 17, 1821. 



i8ai 

1. INCORPORATION FOR BAPTIST CHURCH TRUSTEES REFUSED. 



190 



1. Ijntorpokatio^ for baptist church trustees 

REFUSED. 

A Bill to incor]iorate the Trustees of the Baptist Church 
in the Town of Washington : 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
ISTorth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same. That Jeremiah Martin, Thomas D. Mason, 
Jonathan Haven, Henry Clark and Jeremiah Ligget, and 
their successors be and they are hereby constituted and 
declared to be a body politic and corporate, to be called 
and known by the name and style of the Trustees of the 
Washington Baptist Church, and they are hereby vested 
with all the powers and authorities which are given to re- 
ligious societies or congregations of every denomination 
and also by another act passed in the year 1809, entitled 
an Act to amend an act passed in the year 1796, entitled 
an act to secure property to religious societies or congrega- 
tions of every denomination, any law to the contrary not- 
withstanding. 

EngTossed and Examined. 

In House of Commons Dec. 21, 1821: Read and in- 
definitely postponed. 

—Uniwhlished Documents, 1S21-22. 



191 



1. GOV. HOLMES' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

3. PROPOSED SUBSIDY FOR ACADEMIES. 

4. TEACHERS AND STUDENTS MUST PERFORM PUBLIC DUTIES 

5. APPROPRIATION OF PUBLIC LANDS FOR EDUCATION. 

6. WORK OF RALEIGH FEMALE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 



192 



1. GOV. GABKIEL HOLMES' MESSAGE 0\ EDUCATION. 

I would mention one defect which appears to nie to iviucationin 

. . • Ti iigricultiire much 

exist generally in the education o± our young men ot lib- neglected. 
eral advantages: they know little or nothing of agriculture 
and are not taught to hold it in proper estimation. The 
consequence is that they nearly all devote themselves to 
the learned professions, and leave the calling of husband- 
ry, equally as respectable and more useful, to those whom 
they consider as their inferiors. By this defect and these 
consequent mistaken notions, we lose the talents and influ- 
ence of many a young man, who lags and wathers in one 
of the professions, when he might be an ornament and 
guide in the quiet walks of agriculture, and constitute one 
of that most excellent and useful class of society, good 
citizens. It is truly melancholy to witness the crowd and rpj^^ ,pj^„jg^^ ro- 
drones that hang upon the rear of the learned professions, ^viuiTnVompeteiits 
burthens to themselves and burthens to society, because 
they are useless ; and many of them — perhaps I might 
say a large majority — men of talents, but unliappily mis- 
applied. I trust, if they are beyond the saving influence 
of the Legislature, that you have it still in your power to 
prevent this accumulation, and to diffuse the talents of 
our state into more extensive usefulness. Should the Leg- . 

~ Any systein of 

islature ever practically unite in the important truth, that norneiu^niilrrl-^ 
it is of the last moment to the stability and security of snhjecf'shVm'i.i be 
our republican institutions, that all kinds of useful knowl- the university, 
edge should be extended to our youth, the poorest as well 
as the richest, it is to be hoped that they will not overlook 
the article of agriculture ; and in the present flourishing 
state of our University, when its w^ealth has received such 
an addition of western lands, its number of students such 
an increase, its buildings receiving such improvement and 
extension, and its able faculty and trustees are so zeealous 
and indefatigable in raising its reputation, and extending 
the sphere of its usefulness, it appears to be an auspicious 
13 193 



194 Gov. Holmes on Education. 

period to introduce the subject of agTiculture within its 
walls, and lend it your aid ^ Were you even to de\^ote a 
considerable sum of nionev to this jjurpose, how manifold 
would be the interest which the people would receive in its 
advantages '^ Young men of liberal education would leave 
our University with proper ideas of the dignity and use- 
fulness of agricultural avocations, and wath much useful 
knowledge relating thereto. They would go into the dif- 
ferent parts of the state, and devote themselves to agricul- 
ture, and associate into societies with men of more limited 
opportunities where their knowledge and influence would 
be widely diifused, and give a life and vigor to agricul- 
ture, of which one can easily form some conception. But 
I would not have you suppose that this subject is alto- 
chemistry and getlior ucglccted in our Uuiversitv. We have there a pro- 

mineralogy already o o i i 

sftv"'iub|e"t"in-'^ fessorslii}) of chcmistry and mineralogy, which bear an in- 
wuTagTic-m^^ timate relation to agTiculture, and it gives me much pleas- 

ure to state, that I have been informed that the gentleman 
who has charge of that department of instruction, takes a 
lively interest in the improvement of the agriculture of 
the country, and devotes a part of his course of lectures to 
that subject alone, and loses no opportunity of imparting 
to his pupils every article of knowledge which will be of 
service in the business of life. I am ha})py that I have 
it in my power to make known the fact, that our Univer- 
sity is not confined to those studies which, though of the 
highest importance in a liberal education, have no imme- 
diate relation to the concerns of life. * * * 
u.41\fnearaing With regard to education, although we have been con- 

couraged.'^^" sidcring an important part of it, you are by no means to 
sto2> here. Our constitution has made it your duty to en- 
courage and promote every kind of useful learning. Its 
wise and patriotic fraraers, who were about to burst from 
the thralldom of oppression, and who were sensible of the 
enslaving influence of ignorance, ordained it to be their 
OAvn dutv and the dutv of their sons, to whom thev were 



Gov. Holmes on Education. 195 

soon to bequeath the inestimable legacy of freedom, to dif 
fuse learning among the people — and they, no doubt, 
looked forward, in pleasing contemj^lation, to the period 
when their posterity should have schools and academies 
erected among them ; when knowledge, at least of the more 
ordinary and indispensable kind, should be within the • 
reach of the child of the poorest citizen- — when all useful 
knowledge should be duly encouraged and promoted — the 
people acquainted with their rights, sensible of their na- 
tional blessings, and therefore determined to perpetuate 
their institutions ; and to keep the soil which their fathers 
had purchased with their blood and treasure, the land of 
freedom and the asylum of the oppressed. I fear, gentle- 
men, if those venerable fathers were to rise from their fo bld!mf fo"|ut 

,1,1 in 1 . , 1 . -, education within 

tombs, tney would reproach us with supmeness and neg- the reach of aii. 
lect, and would not listen to our plea of want of power. 
We shall never know what power we have until we exert 
it ; and it holds in political as well as in physical strength, 
that it is increased by exercise. To all these subjects then, 
which appear to me, I am sure, in far more important 
light than my limits or language will allow me to express, 
let us give heed, and timely heed. Let us do something, 
however little, — it may prove in time as a grain of mus- 
tard seed. 

— House Journal, 1822. 



2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES 0> EDUCATION. 

House committee HousG Committee on Education: Aiieiistin H, Shep- 

011 education. " ■* . 

perd, Stokes ; Charles Fisher, Rowan ; James Graham, 
Rutherford ; Nathaniel Gordon, Wilkes ; Robert Jeter, 
Granville ; Thomas Clancy. Hillsborough ; T. ]^. Mann, 
iNash ; Lawrence Cherry, Martin ; Henry Elliott, Chow- 
an; E. E, Graham, Newbern ; Stephen Smith, Wayne; 
Richard Wooten, Columbus; George Blair, Jr., Edenton; 
S. Sidbery, New Hanover; Duncan McLaurin, Rich- 
mond ; John Gilchrist, Robeson. 

— House Journal, 1822. 

Senate Committee on Education: 

[I have not been able to find a list of the Senate mem- 
bers of the committee on education for 1822. The Seriate 
Journal for 1822 and the Raleigh Register and other 
sources have been examined. The copy of the Senate 
Journal for 1822, belonging to the State Library, is muti- 
lated. The Raleigh Register for 1822 is partly missing. 
C. L. C] 



196 



3. PROPOSED SUBSIDY FOR ACADEMIES. 

On motion, Resolved, That the committee on Education Taxes on sales at 

' auction to be 

be, and they are hereby instructed to inquire into the in- ^e voted to aeade- 
expediency of appropriating the sum raised in each of the 
towns of this state by taxes on sales at auction, to increase 
the funds of such seminaries of learning as may exist in 
such towns severally ; and that they report by Inll or other- 
wise. 

— House Journal, 1822, p. 156. 



J97 



4. TEACHERS AND STUDENTS MUST PERFORM PUBLIC 

DUTIES. 

T^ach^rs <inci stu- 

dents to be exempt A Bill to exempt Teacliers and Students of Private 

from duties to the _ _ 

public. Seminaries from the performance of public duties. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
Xorth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same. That the teachers and students of private 
Seminaries for the time being, be and they are hereby ex- 
empt from the performance of public duty: Provided, 
that nothing' herein contained, shall be so construed as to 
exempt them from duty at general reviews nor from being 
called out in case of insurrection or other emergencies. 

Clerk's entries: In House of Commons 7 Deer. 1822: 
read the first time and passed. 

In House of Commons 16 Dec. 1822 : read the second 
time and postponed indefinitely. 

— Unpuhlislted Legislative Documents, 1822. 



198 



5. APPROPKIATION OF PUBLIC LA^DS FOR EDUCATION. 

REPOKT OF THE COMMITTEE 

To whom was referred, the Reports and Resohitions of Preiiminan- re- 

'■ marks. 

the Legishitiires of Maryland and New-Hampshire ; and 
the proceedings in tiic »«iaie of the United States, rela- 
tive to the appropriations of Pnldic Lands, for the purpose 
of Edncation ; made to the Legislature of Xorth-Carolina, 
Dec. 1821. 

The Committee, to whom was referred that part of the 
Governor's Message which relates to the reports and reso- 
lutions of the Legislatures of Maryland and New-Hamp- 
shire, and the proceedings in the Senate of the United 
States, relative to appropriations of public land for the 
jnirpose of education, respectfully Report : 

That thev have given the subiect all the attention and importance of edu- 

_ ^ _ _ _ cation in a free 

consideration which their time and opportunities would government, 
admit. Your committee are dee]dy impressed with the 
importance of education and the general diffusion of 
knowledge. In a government which depends on the pub- 
lic will, where the sovereign power is vested in the people, 
and where, by the frequent recurrence of elections, our 
citizens are periodically and frequently called upon to dele- 
gate certain portions of that sovereignty which is inhe- 
rent in them, it is almost as important that they sJiouId 
l-noir their rights, as that they should possess them. With- 
out this knowledge, they too often become the dupes of 
intrigue and the unconscious instruments of faction. 

Your committee view with pride the rapid progress ^f'aoad^ies^^ 
which North-Carolina has. of late, nuide in knowledge and 
science. Within the last twenty years academies have 
been estaldished l)y individual subscriptions and indi- 
vidual exertions in ahno.st every county in the state. At 
these seminaries, by the generous exertions of tluir found 
ers and patrons, thousands of youth, of both sexes, are iu- 

199 



200 Public Lands and Education. 

structed in the subordinate branches of science, and quali 
tied for tlie ordinary business of life. 
Many graduates of Our University, too, is annually sendino- forth ffradu- 

univcrsity engaged . ... 

in teaching and ates, wlio generally embark in the business of instruction , 

other professions. ' o ./ 

or in some of the learned professions. Many of them 
are now distinguishing themselves in their several call- 
ings, and some are doing honor to the legislative councils 
of the state. The eifect of the establishment of these in- 
stitutions has been to give to the people of the state a 
more expanded and liberal view of her policy. 
Every intelligent The subicct of Internal Improvement, once thought to 

man now tavors •' r y o 

mint's.''' '"''^"^'^" be impracticable and visionary, now meets with a friend 
in every man of intelligence. The question now is, how 
shall we best render navigable our rivers, and open and 
improve our roads ? How shall we lessen our dependence 
on the adjacent states, and best avail ourselves of the ad- 
vantages which nature has given us ? Our criminal code, 
once sanguinary and bloody, has become mild and just; 
our citizens have become more civilized and refined, and 
North-Carolina begins to have a just sense of what is due 
her own character and standing as a member of the Union. 

Only a few able to Your committee reffret, while advantages have been thus 

send children to e, ^ o 

univTrsi't™^'^'^^'^'^ afforded to men of property and fortune of educating 
their children, that the State, on her part, has not made 
corresponding efforts to establish ])rimary schools, where 
the poor could have an opportunity of educating their 
children. The iiuml)er who have the means of sending 
their children to an academy, or to the University, is com- 
paratively small ; and your committee apprehend, that 
while the efforts of the lilx-ral and the more wealthy to 
establish these seminaries may have given to their chil- 
dren advantages which they did not before possess, that 
it may have had the contrary effect upon the poorer classes 
of the community. 

The population of j^orth-Carolina is so thin, that in 
most parts of the state, it requires the whole of a neigh- 



Public Lands and Education. 201 

borliood to find employment and afford the means of pay- population sparse; 
ing neighborhood teachers. Where the means exist, as neglected, 
those who are most engaged in the cause of education gen- 
erally send tlieir children to some Academy, or to the 
University, the balance, not so justly appreciating the im- 
portance of the subject, suffer it to remain neglected for 
the want of suitable persons to give an impulse to tlieir 
exertions. The establishment of primary free schools, 
where the poor as well as the rich can have an opportunity 
of instructing their cliildren in the rudiments of an Eng- 
lish education is certainly "a thing devoutly to be wished 
for" by every friend of his country. 

Your Committee, however, in the present embarrassed Primary schools 
condition of the country, would despair of this State, 'ished by taxation 
without any fund at its disposal, except what is collected 
by taxes from the people, being able to do any thing 
effectual upon this subject, were it not for the claim which 
JSTorth-Carolina has upon the general government for an 
appropriation of public lands for the purposes of educa- '^^'Pv,!^!'.'''^Jk 1;,'-'' 
tion. This claim is not a new one on the part of JSTorth- J^rantldbV united 
Carolina. The subject was brought before the Legisla- ^****^'^- 
ture at a former session, which, by joint resolution of both 
Houses, instructed their Senators, and requested their 
Representatives, in Congress from this State to urge the 
right of l^orth Carolina, to participate in the appropria- 
tions of Public Lands for the purpose aforesaid, in just 
proportions to what had been granted to the new states. 
This claim the Senate of the United States thought it in- 
expedient to grant. Your Committee are, however, grati- 
fied that the subject has of late been much canvassed by 
the old States ; particularly by Maryland and New Hamp- 
shire, and that there is reason to believe that they are dis- 
posed, through the medium of their representation in Con- 
gress, to assert their rights to share in the benefits of these 
appropriations. 

Your committee do not consider it important to enter 



202 Public Lands and Education. 

The land discus- iniiiutelv into the discussion of the question made in the 

sion. ' . ^ . 

Maryland, and assented to in the Xew-IIanipshire Report, 
whether previous to the several cessions which have l>eeu 
made to the general liovernment, the non-ceding states 
were in justice entitled to participate in the extensive back 
country which then formed a i)art of the states, which 
have since made such large cessions to the United Stated ; 
because they cannot see how it can be made to have any 
bearing upon the main question. If, however, they were 
to express an opinion, it would be unfavorable to lhe claim 
then set up by the minor states. 

The war of the revolution was a war of defence, not of 
conquest. The States, from a sense of individual weak- 
ness, associated together for their mutual safely, in rJie 
character of States, having certain chartered limits, which 
were recognised as their respective boundaiies. for tlie 
purpose of protecting the persons and property of their 
citizens from the exactions of arbitrary power, and of de- 
fending the unalienable rights of man. It never was un- 
The public lands dcrstood, or cvcu Contemplated, that the war was to be 

do not l)elong to a n • i ... ,. . -.-r -, 

few states. waged tor the acquisition oi territory. JNo such motives 

ever actuated the citizens of the United States. It is a 
novel idea to your Committee that two or more States, 
engaged in a war on the same side, impelled by the same 
motives, because they are successful, can be said to be en- 
titled to any portion of each other's teritory by right of 
conquest. The victory which is achieved is over the com- 
mon enemy, but the conquest, it seems is over each other. 
Under the articles of confederation, the States were sov- 
ereign to all intents and ]iurposes. The consideration 
was only a strict alliance for jnirposes of mutual safetv 
and defence. — When, therefore. Great Britain acknowl- 
eelged our indej^endence, it was as separate, sovereign and 
independent States. 

Again, conquest implies the acquisition of territory. 
No one state in the Union acquired any territory by the 



Public Laxds and Education. 203 

war. Each remained within its former chartered limits, cession of Tennes- 
see to umtea 

The hirger States, however, have now parted with any states. 

right they foimerly had in the hinds they have ceded, and 

the other states, throngh their representation in Congress. 

have admitted that the right was in the ceding States, by 

accepting their cessions npon the conditions and qnalifi- 

cations contained in the several cession acts. In 1789 the 

General Assembly of North-Carolina passed an act, ceding 

all that tract of conntry, which now constitntes the State 

of Tennessee, to the United States. As it regards the 

claim <tf Xorth-Carolina to the territory over which she 

then, and previons to that time, had exercised jnrisdic- 

tion, there can be no question. Her boundaries had never 

been defined by any charter subsequent to her own ; her 

claim, there, rested upon as firm a basis as the claim of 

Maryland to the territory over which she now exercises 

jurisdiction. The act of cession has the following pre- 

and>le: "Whereas, the United States, in Congress assem- Lands in Tennessee 

"^ ^ ceded to aid in pay- 

bled, have repeatedlv and earnestlv recommended to the i°§[<iebt ofrevo- 

■ i ■ ' lution. 

respective States in the Union claiming or owming Western 
Territory, to make cessions of part of the same as a fur- 
ther means as well of hastening the extinguishment of the 
debts as of establishing the harmony of the United States 
and the inhabitants of the said Western Territory, being 
also desirous that such cessions should be made, in order 
to obtain a more ample protection than they have hereto- 
fore received. Now this State being ever desirous of 
doing ample justice to the public creditors, as well as the 
estahlishinfj the liarinonij of the United States, and com- 
]!lyin<i' with the reasonable desires of her citizens: Be 
it," 6:c. Which shows very clearly the temper of the peo- 
|)le at that time. It was soon after the close of the revo- Pfl^'^^l^J^VJ,; 
lutionary struggle, when the States, having each their Carolina, 
quota of public debts to pay, and having no surplus fund, 
that is to say, the smaller States, when public and private 
confidence were in a great measure shaken, the creditor 



204 Public La:vds axd Education, 

Vv-as apprehensive of the loss of his debts, and the people 
were oppressed by the burthen of the taxes imposed to 
defray the ordinary expenses of government, and borne 
down nnder the weight of debts already contracted. 
„ ,,. , , , These circumstances gave rise to much discontent and 

Public lands by '^ 

ttfJ'stater^ifouoa complaint, and, no doubt to the pretended claim on the 
'^^^'' part of the minor States, to participate in the Western 

Lands belonging to other States. It was certainly gener- 
ous and may have been politic, in those States to make 
large cessions to the Union, for the purpose of securing 
the payment of the public debt, restoring harmony to the 
people of the different States, and gratifying the Welshes of 
a part of their respective citizens, who were anxious to set 
up for themselves. It is no less certainly the duty of 
Congress to see that this magnanimous act of generosity 
be not abused, and the fund which was intended for gen- 
eral, applied to local purposes. The act also contains this 
provision : "That all the lands intended to be ceded by 
virtue of this act, to the United States of America, and 
not appropriated as before mentioned, shall he considered 
as a common fund for the use and benefit of the United 
States of America, North-Carolina inclusive, according to 
their respective and- usual proportion in the general charge 
and expenditure, and shall he faithfully disposed of for 
that purpose, and for no other use or purpose whatever." 
Language could not have expressed the intention of the 
Legislature more plainly, or placed the claim of those 
States, which have not yet received appropriation, upon a 
tinner basis. The acts of cession of other States contain 
similar provisions. 
Congress ought to Your Committee have too an exalted opinion of the Con- 
state/^'* ''"''"'" grf ss of the U. States, to believe that however much they 
may doubt "the expediency of making appropriations for 
the Ixnefit of the old, corresponding with those already 
made for the new States," they can hesitate for a moment 
to redeem the plighted faith of the nation, and perform 
the very conditions upon which the cessions were made. 



Public Lands and Education. 205 

Your committee gave no additional force to the reason- 
ing contained in the reports to the Legislature of the 
States before mentioned, to show the justice of the claims 
of the non-ceding States to be allowed appropriations pro- 
portionate to those already granted to the new States ; and 
they admit the claim of those States, which have made the 
largest cessions, are placed, by the several acts upon the 
subject, on the same footing, except, perhaps, that there Aiithe states have 
may be more equity in the claim of the ceding States, in- iandl^(?f'Loufsiana 
asmuch as they have made the contract, and paid the con- fands.^^ 
sideration upon which the benefit of the stipulations con- 
tained in the several cession acts, have been guaranteed to 
them. There can be as little doubt of the right of all the 
States to share the advantages which have resulted from 
the purchase of Louisiana, and the Indian title to the 
Public Lands, as they were paid for with money drawn 
from the Treasury of the L^. States, in the proportion that 
they have contributed towards the same. As that might 
be a difficult matter to ascertain, perhaps no better mode 
can be devised than the one suggested by the Maryland 
Committee, the ratio of square miles. 

Your committee are satisfied that the statement and a calculation 

showing amount 

calculation made in the Maryland report are correct, of public lands. 
That the amount of unappropriated Public Lands is four 
hundred millions of acres. The total amount necessary to 
do justice to those States, which have not yet had any ap- 
propriation made in their favour, is 9,370,760 acres, or 
something less than 2 1-2 per cent upon the whole amount. 
That the amount already appropriated for literary pur- 
poses, and which will be ai)propriated, if the system here- 
inbefore adhered to for the benefit of the new States and 
Territories, is 14,576,5(39 2-3 acres. Xorth Carolina is 
entitled to an appropriation of 980,666 acres, which, at 
two dollars per acre, would amount to the sum of $1,961,- calculation show- 
332. Two dollars per acre being something less than the ca?otoa^,fti?r'' 
average price for v.-hich government lands have sold, it ^^ 



206 



Public Lands and Education. 



What this would 
enable state to do 
for education. 



Appropriation 
already made ap- 
plauded, partiality 
condemned. 



Maryland report 
approved. 



New Hampshire 
report quoted. 



would be fair to estimate the claim of North-Carolina at 
$2,000,000 ; the interest upon that sum would be $120,000 
per annum, which divided equally amono- the counties in 
the State, would make the sum of $1,933.70 per annum, 
to each county. $120,000 per ajmum, divided among all 
the different counties in the State, according to their re- 
spective popidation and wants, judiciously managed, would 
enable the Legislature to establish schools to a consider- 
able extent, in each county. The means of obtaining edu- 
cation would thus be brought home to the doors of every 
individual, and the poor, as well as the rich, could avail 
themselves of the advantages of a fund so wisely appro- 
priated. 

Your committee applaud, rather than condemn, the ap- 
propriations already made, and all they ask is, that Con- 
gress will make them general, not partial, that, that whieli 
is expressly stipulated to be a common fund, for the com- 
mon benefit of all the States, shall not be applied exclu- 
sively for the benefit of any particular State or section of 
country. 

Your committee, from every consideration which they 
have been able to give the subject, cordially concur with 
the sentiment expressed in the Maryland Report, '"that in 
whatever point of view the public lands are considered, 
whether as acquired by purchase, conquest or cession, they 
are emphatically the common property of the Union. 
They ought to inure, therefore, to the common use and 
benefit of all the States, in just proportions, and cannot 
be appropriated to the use and benefit of any particular 
State, to the exclusion of the others, without an infringe- 
ment of the principles upon which cessions from states 
were expressly made, and a violation of the spirit of our 
national compact as well as the principles of justice and 
sound ]iolicy." They also agree perfectly in opinicni with, 
the sentiment expressed by the Legislature of Tiew-Hamp- 
shire, "That those states for whose benefit such appropri- 



Public Lands and Education. 207 

ations have not yet been made, will not be true to them- 
selves, if they do not make known to Congress, who alone 
possess the power to make them, their request for such ap- 
propriations, not as a matter of favour, but of right." 
They, therefore, respectfully recommend the adoption of 
the following resolutions: 

Resolved hy the General Assembly of North-Carolina, 
That each of the United States has an equal right to par- 
ticipate in the benefit of the public lands as the common 
property of the Union ; and that the States in whose favour 
Congress has not made appropriations of land for the pur- 
poses of education, are entitled to such appropriations as 
will be in just proportion with those already made in favor 
of other states, and in accordance with the principles upon 
which cessions have been made by States to the United 
States. 

Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be requested Resolutions report- 

, , ^ • T-i 1 -r-> 1 • "^"^ ^^'^ adoption. 

to transmit copies of the foregoing Keport and Kesolution 
to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, 
with a request that they will lay the same before their re- 
spective Houses, and use their endeavours to procure the 
passage of an act to carry into effect the just principle 
therein set forth. 

Resolved, That His Excellency the Governor be also re- 
quested to transmit copies of the said Report and Resolu- 
tions to the Governors of the several states of the Union, 
with a request that they will communicate the sauie to 
their respective Legislatures, and solicit their co-operation. 
All of which is respectfully submitted. 

Samuel Hillman, Chairman. 

—Raleigli Register, Jan. 4, 1822. 



6. WORK OF RALEIGH FEMALE BE>EVOLE>fT SOCIETY. 



Society in existence 
for some time. 



Industrial work. 



Indigent children 
educated. 



We have observed with pleasure that the young Gentle- 
men of this place have associated themselves to perform a 
Play this evening, (Wednesday,) for the benefit of the 
Female Benevolent Society. This Society has existed for 
some time j^ast, and has for its object the promotion of in- 
dustry, and the instruction of the children of indigent 
parents in the first rudiments of learning. 

Our readers will excuse our dilating a little on the sub- 
ject so interesting to the lower class of the community, 
and so reputable to those who are at the head of this In- 
stitution, whom Providence has blessed with the means 
and inspired their hearts to enter earnestly into this labor 
of love. The object of this Society is to purchase raw 
materials, which the poor and industrious females are em- 
ployed to spin and weave into useful cloths for domestic 
use — and these are made up and sold for the benefit of 
the Society, k thus their small funds (arising from annual 
subscriptions and charitable donations) is continually re- 
volving for the benefit of the poor. 

Before this school was opened it could not have been 
believed that there were so many poor children in the 
neighborhood, in so great a degree destitute of instruction. 
It is a pleasing sight now to observe between 40 & 50 
children "trained up in the way they should go," and reg- 
ularly brought to Divine Worship, many of whom proba- 
bly never before attended on such an occasion. These 
children are not only instructed on the Sabbath-day but 
attend school regularly five days during the wee"k, under 
the superintendence of a pious lady competent to the task, 
who is paid by the Society. Too much praise cannot be 
bestowed on this undertaking and its benevolent founders. 
We trust they will persevere ; and it argues well that the 



208 



Auniversarv 



Rat>eigh Bexp:volent Society. 209 

vonng Gentlemen have with characteristic liberality, vol- 
unteered their services to aid the funds of the Society. 

— Raleigh Register, July Jf, 1822. 

Snnday last being the Anniversary of the Raleigh Fe- 
male Benevolent Society, a very appropriate and eloquent 
Sermon was delivered by the Eev. Mr. Green, from the 
following words — ^''Bnt whoso hath this world's goods, and 
seeth his In-other have need, and shntteth up his bowels 
of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in 
him ?" and a collection was then made in aid of the fnnds. 
A brief sketch of the progress of the Society during the 
last year was read in the Church — from this document it 
appears that this Institution has already been productive 
of much good ; and it is not to be doubted that the advan- 
tages accruing from it to the ])Oor of the city will be felt 
more sensibly every year, as one of its principal objects is 
to give to destitute female children such an education as 
will tend to render them useful and respectable members 
of society. The children of the School were present on 
the occasion, and Mr. Green alluded very happily to them 
in his appeal to the benevolence of the Congregation. 

— Raleigh Register, August 2, 1822. 

Waited 

A RESPECTABLE Female to take charge of the 
School under the patronage and superintendence of the 
Raleigh Female Benevolent Society. 

It will be expected that whoever undertakes to teach courses of study 

l^ r~^^ -T 1 nmi • i .,iD the society free 

tlie Chilaren, shall be competent to instruct them m the school. 
rudiments of the English language, the common rules of 
Arithmetic, Writing, Sewing and Knitting. Further, it 
will be expected that the teacher will take charge at bed 
and board of such children as the Society have, or may 
adopt, to be supported, clothed and educated at the ex- 
pense of the Society. 

14 



210 Ealeigh Benevolent Society. 

A small dwelling' attached to the School Room will be 
furnished to the person who undertakes the services above 
mentioned. 

Application may be made to the President or Managers, 
or to the Book Store of J. Gales and Son. 

Mav 14. 

— Raleigh Register, June 8, 1827. 



18^3 

1. GOV. HOLMES' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

3. HILL'S RESOLUTION ON ESTABLISHING SCHOOLS. 

4. THE LEGISLATURE URGED TO ESTABLISH COMMON 

SCHOOLS. 



211 



1. GOV. GABRIEL HOLMES' MESSAGE OX EDUCATION. 

I trust it will not be deemed chimerical to recommend 

Expeiiiiiental 

furm toi; use of tlio purcbasc of a Small farm near our University, to be 

university 111 teach- ■■• "^ ' 

iiig agriculture. p■^^^ under tbe care of a scientific and practical farmer, 
who should, besides a small salary, given as an additional 
inducement for one qualified to offer, be allowed the pro- 
duce of the farm, which should be cultivated in the highest 
order. On this farm experiments should be made under 
the direction of the Professor of Chemistry, in manuring, 
as to kind, quality, and manner of applying, and in the 

Details in outline various uiethods of cultivatiuo; difl'erent articles of common 

of the plan. *^ _ 

growth, and such as might be deemed important to intro- 
duce from abroad. The person having charge of the 
Farm should understand the mechanism and use of the 
most improved implements of husbandry, and also be well 
informed in the diftereut departments of domestic econo- 
my. It is unnecessary to be more minute, as my design 
is only to sketch an outline of the plan, which some re- 
flection has suggested to my mind. Let the students of 
the University, of the two higher classes, accompanied by 
tlie Professor of Chemistry, visit this little farm at such 
time as might be fixed upon by the Faculty of the Uni- 
versity, and there see and learn the usefulness and beauty 
of husbandry. What a stock of useful knowledge would 
this enable our young men to carry with them into the 
utility of the plan, i^^^^^^^^ ^^ socicty ! The utility and practicability of this 
]dan derives much support from the assurance which we 
may feel, that the able and indefatigable Faculty of our 
University, would cheerfully co-operate in the attainment 
of the important objects in view. 

—House Journal, lS2S-Ji, p. 119. 



212 



2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES 0\ EDUCATION. 

Senate Committee on Education : Wm. M. Sneed, 
Granville; Charles A. Hill, Franklin; Xathan B. White- senate committee 

■ on education. 

field, Lenoir ; John Hill, Stokes ; Edward Ward, Onslow. 
— Senate Journal, 1823, p. IS. 

House Committee on Education: James Graham, 
Eutherford; S. Whitaker, Wake; Charles Fisher, Eowan; 
Joseph Flynt, Stokes; Bedford Brown, Caswell; Thomas 
Clancy, Hillsborough; Thomas X. Mann, :N^ash ; Ephraim h^.^.^ p„,^j^i^t^.,. 
Mann, Tyrrell ; William Wilkins, Edgecombe; Theodore "'^ ^"^^"f'^^'^^"- 
Barrow, Perquimans ; William Watson, Hyde ; Charles 
Edwards, Greene ; L. T. Oliver, Onslow ; Wm. K. Frede- 
ridc, I)n|!lin; Gideon Seawell, ]\Ioore ; John Cole, Rich- 
mond. 

— House Journal, lS,zS. p. 126. ■ 



218 



3. HILL'S RESOLUTION ON ESTABLISHING SCHOOLS. 



Constitution re- 
quires schools for 
convenient in- 
struction of youth. 



On motion of Mr. J. A. Hiir, 

Resolved, that the committee on education be instructed 
to enquire into the expediency of establishing, by law, 
schools throughout this State, in conformity to the 41st 
section of the Constitution, which makes it the duty of the 
Legislature to establish schools for the convenient instruc- 
tion of the youth of the state, and to provide for the due 
encouragement and promotion of useful learning; and that 
said committee have leave to report by bill or otherwise'. 

— House Journal, 182S, p. 150. 



' J. A. Hill, New Hanover. 

^ Made no report and no bill was proposed. 



214 



4. THE LEGISLATURE URGED TO ESTABLISH COMMON 
SCHOOLS. 

There is one subject Avhich, amidst all the political fer- 
ment and turmoil of the times, we hope will not be passed Establishing 
by unnoticed. The subject of Education has been too neglected, 
long negiected by the Legislature; but we hope at this ses- 
sion something will be done to encourage it. We have a 
well endowed and very respectable University ; but its ad- 
vantages are too remote from the great mass of the popula- fif^P|f ^tf of®'^\, ° 
tion of the state, to be felt and appreciated by them. The cation, 
people at large are deplorably deficient in the rudiments 
of an education. To obviate this, primary schools are 
wanting. No appropriation wdiich the Legislature could 
make, would be so little objected to as one for the support schoois^ouid be 
of common schools. We do hope some member will make 
an experiment this session, and see what can be done in 
the Legislature on this subject. 

— Editorial in Wesfern Carolinian, Nov. 18, 1823. 



little objected to. 



215 



1. GOV. HOLMES' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. HILL'S SCHOOL FUND BILL 

3. SENATE COMMITTEE REPORT ON EDUCATION. 

4. ASHE'S BILL FOR EDUCATING THE YOUTH OF THE POOR. 

5. COMMITTEE ON PLAN OF EDUCATION. 

6. HAYWOOD'S PLAN TO CREATE A LITERARY FUND. 

HAYWOOD'S PLAN APPROVED BY WESTERN CAROLINAN. 

REVIEW OF OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS; NORTH CAROLINA 
URGED TO ESTABLISH SCHOOLS. 

AN EDGECOMBE APPEAL FOR FREE SCHOOLS. 



216 



1. GOV. GABRIEL HOLMES' 3IESSAGE ON EDUCATION, 

It maj not be amiss, gentlemen, to say somewhat on tli3 
subject of Literature, It is unquestionably of vital im- 
l^ortance to the respectability of the State, as well as indi- 
vidual prosperity and happiness. But I have harped on 
it so often (and as often I presume, have my predecessors) 
that I now toucli the chord with almost hopeless expecta- Kducation i^of 

vital importance to 

tions and frieid indifference. But whilst I see our sister tiie state and to the 

^ mdividual ; other 

States boasting of millions appropriated to that fund and xorth'camtinL 
that well organized little Eepublic, Connecticut, proudly 
declaring that her every son and daughter can read and 
write — by the contrast our policy forms with their regTila- 
tions, 1 am irresistibly constrained to invite your atten- 
tion to the improvement of the minds of the rising genera- 
tion of Xorth Carolina. 

Our Fiscal Department is in a flourishing situation : ^u overflowing 
riur treasury al)Ounding in gold and silver, or its adequate notiiing appropri- 

, 11 1 <• 1^1 1 ated for education ; 

vanie, collected irom the people, and not one cent appro- creation of school 

" . . . fund suggested. 

pruited to the improvement of the minds of their children. 
I mean those who have not the means to afford their sonb 
and daughters liberal educations. Surely, then, we can- 
not, consistent with good joolicy, hesitate to create a fund, 
that will assist the parents of every denomination, to initi- 
ate their offspring in elementary rudiments of learning. 
Knowledge, well and generally diff'used amongst every 
class of our citizens, is the best security of their constitu- 
tional rights and liberties. It will enable them to resisr 
all innovations of Demagogues or ambitious men, whose 
views to the constitution are inimical or subversive. The 
people are industrious and patriotic ; thev cheerfullv sub- 

., , ,, , 1 f 1 Vi T • The people will 

scribe to the necessary demands oi the State upon their approve a measure 

looking to the edu- 

purse, without a murmur. Thev would most C'ladlv re- cation of the chii- 

^- ■ dren 

ceive and greatly acknowledge your patronage for the im- 
provement of their families. They have a right fully to 

217 



218 Gov. Holmes on Education. 

antici^iate your fostering care, and I cannot doubt bnt 
that the advantages resulting to society from such mea- 
sures, will claim your wise and well digested liberality 
toward them. 

— House Journal, 1821i-. 



Bill to create a 
fmid to t'ducate 



2. HILL'S SCHOOL FUND BILL. 

Monday, December 6, 1824. Mr. Hill', from the Com- 
mittee on Education, reported a bill to create a fund for 
the purpose of educating that part of the infant popula- 
tion of this State, who shall from time to time be found [;;",',' .^Ciiarenin- 

1 i-i. i J- i.1 x- 1 • xi • 1x1 tro<lu('t'(l in Senate. 

destitute oi the means of beeonnng otherwise properly taken 
care of, in that particular; which was read the first time 
and passed, and, on motion of Mr. Outlaw", ordered that 
the bill and the report be printed. 

— Se)tate JokduiI, 182Jf.-25, p. 42. 

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 1824. — The bill to create a fund 
for the purpose of educating that part of the infant popu- 
lation of this State wlio shall from time to time be found 

^ ote on nirtehnite- 

destitute of the means of becoming otherwise properly taken jy 'genate"'"^ "^^^^ 
care of in that particular, was read the second time. Mr. 
Speight^ moved that the bill be indefinitely postponed, 
which was not agreed to. The yeas and nays on this ques- 
tion being demanded by Mr. Hill, are as follows : 

For indefinite postponement are, 

Yeas. — Messrs. Barringer, Calloway, Davis, Forney, 
Harrell, Marshall, Marsh, Speight, Shober, Sherrod, Wil- 
liams of Beaufort, Wellborn— 12. Those voting on 

Against indefinite postponement are, ofthe'*bnr''°'^"^ 

Xays. — Messrs. Baker, Brittain, Bullock, Bryan, Be- 
thune, Boddie, Boykin, Beasley, Carson, Davidson, De- 
vane, Frink, Fisher, Gibbs, Greene, Hill, Joiner, Love, 
Matthews, McLeod, Legrand, McDaniel, McLeary, Mont- 



1 Charles A. Hill, of Franklin. 
' Georg-e B. Outlaw, of Bertie. 
■* Jesse Speight, of Greene. 

219 



220 



Hill's School Fund Bill. 



Amendment 
adopted. 



Yeas and nays on 
Carson amend- 
ment. 



gomery, j^uttall, Perkins, Parker, Peebles Poole, Riddiek, 
Roberts, Sliipman, Saljear, Smitliwick, Sullivan, Sea- 
well, Vanliook, Williams of Lenoir, Williams of Moore, 
Wilson, W^ard — 41. 

The question then recurred on the passage of the said 
bill the second time, which was determined in the affirma- 
tive, and the same being read the third time, Mr. McLcod^ 
moved to strike out the words negro traders and billiard 
tables in the first section, which was not agreed to. Mr. 
Carson" moved to add the following section to the bill: 

^'^That the tax hereafter to be collected from persons 
keej)ing a billiard table, shall be one hundred dollars, to 
be licensed and collected under the same rules and regula- 
tions and restrictions as by law are now provided in the 
collection of such tax." 

Which amendment was agreed to. 

The yeas and nays on the adoption of this amendment 
being demanded by Mr. Nuttalb'^, are as follows: 

For the adoption of the amendment are. 

Yeas — -Messrs. Baker, Brittain, Bullock, Bryan, Black- 
well, Beasley, Carson, Davidson, Devane, Frink, Forney, 
Gibbs, Greene, Hill, Harrell, Love, Matthews, Montgom- 
ery, Perkins, Peebles, Pool, Riddiek, Roberts, Shipman. 
Salyear, Smitliwick, Sullivan, Shober, Seawell, Williams 
of Lenoir, Williams of Moore, Wilson, Ward, Wellborn 
—34. 

Against the adoption of the amendment are, 

Nays — Messrs. Baxringeri, Bethune, Boddie, Boykin, 
Davis, Fisher, Joiner, Legrand, Marshall, Marsh, Mc- 
Leod, McDaniel, McLeary, ISTuttall, Parker, Speight, 
Sherrard, Vanhook, Williams, of Beaufort — 19. 



'John McLeod, of Johnston. 
^Samuel P. Carson, of Burke. 
^ James Nuttall, of Granville. 



Hill's School Fund Bill. 221 

The question then recurred on the passage of the said 
bill the third time as amended, and the same was deter- fading onVebm 
mined in the affirmative. The yeas and nays on the pas- "' '^''^ ^®"''^''- 
sage of the bill the third time being demanded by Mr. 
Sjjeight, are as follows : 

For the passage of the bill are, 

Yeas — Messrs. Baker, Brittain, Bullock, Bryan, Be- 
thune, Blaekwell, Boykin, Beasley, Carson, Copeland, 
Davidson, Devane, Frink, Fisher, Gibbs, Greene, Hill. 
Love, Legrand, Matthews, McLeary, Montgomery, Per- 
kins, Parker, Peebles, Pool, Eiddick, Koberts, Shipman, 
Salyear, Smithwick, Sullivan, Seawell, Vanhook, Wil- 
liams, of Lenoir, Williams, of Moore, Wilson, Ward. — 38. 

Against the passage of the bill are, 

Xays — Messrs. Barringer, Boddie, Calloway, Davis, 
Forney, Harrell, Joiner, Marshall, Marsh, McLeod, E"ut- 
tall, Speight, Shober, Sherrard, Williams, of Beaufort, 
Welborn. — 16. 

Thereupon the bill was ordered to be engrossed. 

— Senate Journal, 1824-25, pp. 102-103. 

Friday, December 31, 1824. Received from the House 
of Commons a message, stating that they have rejected the 
engrossed bill to create a fund for the purpose of educating House rejects 
that ])art of the infant population of this state who shall ^^ '^"^ ^ '^ 
from time to time be found destitute of the means of be- 
coming otherwise properly taken care of in that particular. 

—Senate Journal, 1824-25, p. 110.^ 



^See House Journal, December 30, 18l'4, p. 121. The House indefi- 
nitely postponed the bill without division. 



222 



HiLi>'s School Fuxd Bill. 



The Bill. 



Certain bank stock 
and license taxes 
to be constituted a 
school fund. 



Commissioners to 
manase the fund. 



Commis.sioners to 
make an annual 
report to Legisla- 
ture. 



Taxes on l)illiard 
tables. 



A Bill to create a fund for the purpose of educating 
that part of the infant population of the State who shall 
from time to time be found destitute of the means of be- 
coming otherwise properly taken care of in that particular. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
Xortli Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority' 
of the same, that all the Bank Stock, which shall be ac- 
quired by this State, through the investment of the pro- 
ceeds of the Treasury notes ordered to be issued by the 
last General Assembly ; together with all the monies which 
shall annually be collected from the taxes at present laid 
or which shall be hereafter laid on Gates, natural and ar- 
tificial curiosities, peddlers, negro traders, and Billiard 
tables, shall be, and the same are hereby appropriated as a 
fund for the purpose aforesaid. 

And be it further enacted that the Governor, for the 
time being, the Secretary of State, the public Treasurer 
and the Comptroller shall be, and they are hereby de- 
clared to be commissioners with power to take charge of 
the said stock and monies and to employ them in such 
manner as they shall judge best calculated to further and 
promote the end in view. 

And be it further enacted that said Commissioners shall 
report annually and fully to the General Assembly to the 
( nd that Body may be the be tter enabled to determine on 
the time and manner in which the interest of the fund so 
to be created, or any part of it shall be applied to the pur- 
pose al)Ove mentioned. 

Be it further enacted that the tax hereafter to be col- 
lected from persons keeping a Billiard table, shall be one 
hundred dollars, to be secured and collected under the 
same rules, regulations and restrictions as by law is now 
provided in the collection of such tax. any law to the con- 
trarv notwithstanding!:. 



Hill's School Fund Bill. 223 

In Senate Dec. 30, 1824, Engrossed and Examined. ckTk-s entry. 

In House of Commons Dec. 30, 1824, read the first 
time and rejected. 

— From Unpublished Legislaiivc Documents, lS2Jf-25. 



3. SENATE COMMITTEE KEPORT OJ EDUCATIOIV.i 

The Committee on Education having taken the subject 
under consideration report 
Education the That SO scnsiblj atTccted are they, with the importance 

of liberty. of a general diffusion of useful knowledge among all the 

classes of the community in a free and independent na- 
tion, they have been induced briefly to examine the effects 
of education, as tending to raise and maintain the founda- 
tion of liberty in all nations. 

"To teach the young idea how to shoot" 

The imagination lias dcservcdlv engaged the Philanthropist in everv aa'e, in 

can not conceive . " . ". ^' 

all the blessings of (^xeY\ dime. The committee are aware that the imaffina- 

education. -^ ^ 

tion, with all its active energies, is still inadequate to 
embrace and contemplate all the blessings resulting from 
the powers and faculties of the mind, when well stored 
with useful and valuable learning; but being taught by 
the history df olden times, that the mind herself is stripped 
of her brightest gems ; that liberty, however dearly bought, 
is but an empty sound, unless aided by such a share of use- 
ful knowdedge, as will unfold and cherish their inherent 
beauties ; Your Committee will venture the assertion that 
life itself is but an evanescent shadow, without the proper 
improvement o^f the mind. If we view the dawn of liberty 
in Greece ; if we contemplate its advancement in that 
oUvTant" ^^^'^ '"^ classic region we discover, at once, that education led the 
van. And what but the awful inroad made on mental 



' Senate Committee on Education, 1824-25 : Charles A. Hill, Frank- 
lin ; Samuel P. Carson, Burke; Benj. W. Williams, Moore; Isham 
Matthews, Halifax, and James Nuttall, Granville. Mr. Hill made 
the report. See Senate Journal, 1824-25, p. 42. 

224 



Senate Kepokt ox Education. 225 

refinement has deluged, with slavery, barbarism and deg- 
radation, the once delighted and all powerful Greece ? 
While she gloried in her Demosthenes, Epaminondas, 
Pelopidas and other innumerable enlightened statesmen, 
nor tyrant arms, nor despots frowns could awe her into 
submission. She stood preeminently proud, entrenched 
under the impregnable ramparts of her own defence. But 
soon as wealth and pride had usurped all power, and use- 
ful learning was adjudged to check their dread career, 
igTLorance and sloth then put forth their baleful influence 
and in their gorgon of destruction, hurried her liberty for orlece^wanfsul 
ages. This second paradise, this mother, cradle and man- [!,uion."''^'''''' '"^"" 
tie of freedom, — this emporium of all that was truly good 
and glorious, — this birth place and nursery of patriotism 
and philosophy, receeded from her high and well earned 
fame ; — Greece became the seat of savage ferocity ; fell 
like the tall Cedar of Lebanon, and seemed only for a 
moment to have illumined the world by the splendid bril- 
liancy of her scientific coruscations, more fully to demon- 
strate the importance of education to secure the rights of 
man. Thus too, old Eome, once mistress of the world — Rome also, 
while under the guidance of literature and science, who 
could bound her illimitable empire ? What region equal 
he^r resplendent grandeur ? — ^profligacy of manners and 
corruption of morals succeeded the neglect of the mind, 
and Roman greatness could only remember her heroes and 
statesmen, her poets and philosophers, the more deeply to 
deplore her dishonor and her ruin. 

The advancement in civilization has ever proceeded in civilization and 
an equal pace, with the improvement of the mind So ever gone hand in 
the ramparts of freedom and the enjoyments of liberty 
have ever declined with the declension of useful learning. 
Despots alone rejoice in the ignorancje of their vassals, 
and have sought security from their mental darkness. 



15 



220 Skxate IvKi'oirr ox Educatiox. 



Not so n'publics ; they boast their security in the iuti'lli- 
gence of tlieir sons; for both have learned 



Popo's linos. 



" "Tis education funns the common mind 
.lust as the twig is bent the trees incline." 

Your conrmittee would call the attention of the Legis- 
lature to an examination of the State of the indigent youth 
of the community ; why engulphed in ignorance and over- 
whelmed in infamy that abject son of penury and want ^ 
Tho sjid condition All! i)erhaps his father's bones yet shine imburried on the 

of tile i.unorant . , . 

children of the helds of battle, where gloriously he fell in defence of our 



State. 



liberty. Who can tell the number of children, who, de- 
prived by birth of the lueans of acquiring even an ele- 
mentary education grow up, exposed to the delusions of 
vice, and soon yield to the deceitfulness of sin ? Who can 
recount the children of our State who rise to manhood 
ignorant alike of men and manners, unable to rt^ad the 
sacred charter of liberty ; nnacquainted with the history 
of these glorious revolutionary struggles, which wafted 
our country to honor and independence; incompetent to 
search that sacred volume ; which brought life and immor- 
tality to light. — These sojourn among us with as little 
honor to themselves, as usefulness to their Country, — are 
led captive by the tinsel glare of folly or ambition; be- 
come the veriest tools of duplicity and intrigue, and may 
at some future period subserve the purposes of a despot, 
to revolutionise our govei*nment, sap the very foundation 
of our reinddicau institutions, and satiate the ]n'oud sjtirit 
of some aspirinii' Demagogue, 
igiiomnce the The Counuittee would direct the attention of the Legis- 

lature to our Villages, streets and cities. — to our gill-shop- 
and jtrisons; — to the walks of female, depravity and fe- 
male pollution; — to the helpless orphan, and impoverished 
child ; — to our criminal records and plans of execution ; — 
.Vlas. wltat tlu'ri> do we btdiold ? mism-able objects; many 
whose virtues uiiiilit h:\vo sIk^vu iu the lustre of tlie State. 



cause of A-ice. 



SENATE EePOKT on EDUCATION. 227 

had iliey been blessed with even the elements of learning ! 
Wretches whose first departure from morality and virtue, 
is signalised by that ignorance which your Committee 
would deplore and which your committee would remove ! 
— unhappy victims of the wily and seductive arts, too 
often employed against female innocence and female affec- 
tion! And why vour streets, your cities, your neighbor- vire follows the 

•^ " ' -^ ' "^ " . neglect of the chil- 

hoods, your prisons, your courts and the community drcn. 
crowded with these miserable characters ? — Here is the 
cause. The helpless Orphan, the child of poverty, is suf- 
fered to grow up in that ignorance which dooms him to 
infamy and despair, because he is poor and disowned by » 

the State, 

Your Committee indulge the sanguine hope and lively Anti.i,, ate time 

~ ^ -^ ' vvhrii >iat(.- will aid 

anticipation of better times, and look with fond expecta- i|>^^'J.i<|^j;'.'jy,'^<;^^tion of 

tion to the commencement of a work, which may reverse 

those sad scenes by bestowing some portion of the care and 

patronage of the State, on the instruction of the indigent 

and orphan. The human mind is fitly compared to the 

marble in the quarry, which can never shine unaided by 

the hand of the sculptor. Talents of the first order, may. 

and frequently do lie buried in the bosom of the poorest 

Orphan or child of most abject poverty. Indeed the hiah roor children often 

^ J i I' ^ ^ ■ y)()ssess great 

renown and merited fame of many of the most illustrious talent. 

of our K'ation, warrant the assertion and demonstrate the 

fact, that persons of low estate and obscure birth, when 

fired by manly pride and virtuous ambition, are most likely 

to succeed in the march to honor and to fame. 

Your Committee then recommend that when blessed 

witli the means of removing so dreadful a calamity, wc 

slioidd (\'i\re the undertakine'. That a work mav be com The treasiiry over- 
flowing, time now 

meiK'cd, thrt could run parallel with immortality itself. ^^.'oS education 
Divine Providence as with an eye to so great and glorious 
an object h^s given to the State an overflowing treasury. 
Xow then, Your Committee are persuaded is the moment 
to commence so brilliant a dis]day of patriotism and mag- 



■'228 Se>7ate Eepout ox Education. 

naiiiiiiitv. Already has the State afforded to the affluent 

and wealthy the happy opportunity of educating their 

sons. Already has she raised that pride and boast of the 

The wealthy pro- State I Already does her University deservedly rank anions 

vided the means of ? ^ ^ i/ ^ 

education at the the first colleges of America : both from the extent of her 

university. ~ ' 

funds and erudition of her Faculty. From hence is 
spread abroad that useful information, which is diffusing 
literature and science in every section of our State. But 
your Committee would not stop here ; They behold and 
deplore the wretched state of ignorance to which a large 
Time to provide portion of our indigent youth are doomed. This must 

for the indigent ^ o ,,' 

yo"'^^- be remedied and now is the favorable and auspicious 

period ; this is the happy moment to lay a foundation for 
the general dissemination of good and valuable learning 
among every class, to the helpless and forlorn. Your 
Committee would again assert the means are at hand. 
There must be a beginning, and although that beginning 
be comparatively small, yet your Committee cherish the 

Let the beffinuing fond liopc that as a larffc fire is often kindled from a little 

be small, the work ^ '^ 

will grow. spark, SO may tlie philanthropic mind look forward to the 

day, when future generations, shall look back to the proud 
period, when from this little beginning, virtue, liberty and 
science shall have cemented every section of onr Country ;. 
when they shall rise up with prophetic eulogy bless the 
day of their redemption from ignorance and infamy, and 
everywhere announce paeans of praise to that Legislature, 
which shall stand forth as the first champion of equal 
rights in the State of Xorth Carolina. 

To effect the important objects embraced in this report, 
your Committee ask leave to report the following bill and 
recommended its passage into a law. 

[See precedinof pages for the bill referred to. C. L. C] 

— From Unpiihlislicd LpfjisJafive Documents^ lS2Jf.. 



4. ASHE'S BILL FOR EDICATING THE YOUTH OF THE 

POOR. 

Saturday, Dec. 11, ]S24. Mr, Ashe"^ presented a bill 
providing- a fund and plan for the edncation of the youth introduction in the 
of the poor in the different counties of the State, which Hojse. 
was read the first time and passed, and, on motion, re- 
ferred to the committee on Education. 

— House Journal, 182Jf.-^5, p. 68. 

Monday, Dec. 13, 1S24. Mr. Alston', from the Com- 
mittee on Education", to whom was referred the bill pro- 
viding a fund and plan for the education of the youth of committee, 
the poor in the different counties of this State, returned 
the same. Ordered, that the said bill lie on the table. 

— House Journal, 1821^-25, p. 72. 

Monday, December 20, 1824. — On motion of Mr. 
Bain*, ordered, that the bill providing a fund and plan ^^^^^ ordered 
for the education of the youth of the poor in the different P'""^^^'<i- 
counties of this State be printed, one copy for each member 
of the Assembly. 

— House Journal, 1824-25, p. 88. 



'Samuel P. Ashe, Cumberland. 

^ Willis Alston of Halifax county. 

^The House Committee on Education. 1824-25 : William Watson, 
Hyde; Alney Burgin, Burke; J. M. Flynt. Stokes; George Andrews, 
Rowan; John Scott, Hillsborough; William McCauley, Orange; Wil- 
lis Alston, Halifax; R. H. Cowan, AVilmington ; R. W. Goodman, 
Lenoir; Alexander Elliott, Cumberland; Alex. McNeill, Moore; J. L. 
Bailey, Pasquotank; J. N. Hoskins, Chowan; S. Whitehurst, Craven; 
Gabriel L. Stewart, Martin. See House Journal, 1824-25, p. 4. 

* Matthew Bain of Mecklenburg. 

229 



230 Ashe's School Bill. 

Fails on second Moiiclaj, Jan. 3, 1825. — The bill providing a fund and 

plan for the education of the youth of the poor in tlio 
different counties of this State was read the second time 
and, on motion, ordered, to be postponed indefinitely. 

— House Journal, 1824-25, p. 133. 

The Bill. 

A Bill providing a fund and plan for the Education of 

the youth of the poor in the different Counties of this^ 

State. 

DutyoftheLeRis- As it is the boundcn and paramount duty of the Legis- 
lature to provide . . • i c 

for the education of lature 111 evcry wcll Organized government, to provide lor 
the tuition of youth, but more especially of those in repub- 
lican and representative governments, the well being and 
perpetuation of which to make it coexistent with time de- 
pends on the capacity of the people to understand and fully 
appreciate the fundamental principles of the Government 
and laws they live under — as it is essential to the pros- 
perity and welfare of the republic, that its citizens should 
be correctly informed and have a full knowledge of their 
political rights and social duties as members of a com- 
munity, voluntarily submitting for the general good to 

Benefits of educa- arbitrary regulations, an information and knowledo-e, 
which can only be obtained by making the acquisition of 
the rudiments of useful learning of easy, equal and gene- 
ral access to the children of every citizen, so as to place 
the child of the poor upon a footing with the rich, on what 
to them may be aptly termed the threshold of life ; by so 
doing implant in their youthful minds an attachment to 
republican equality, and thus stifle if not destroy forever 
the disposition to assume and exercise those invidious and 

Eciuaiity of oppor- dangei'ous distinctions but too fast srrowino- in our Conntrv 

tunity for all. _ ^ 

which the possession of inordinate wealth, and the inflated 
desire for personal distinction, with its concomitant ambi- 
tion which thpt wealth gives birth to in the individual pos- 



Ashe's School Bill. 231 

sessing it, who disposed to sacrifice the happiness of theii- 
Country and of myriads unborn to the gratifications of 
their passions and the furtherance of their ambitious 
views, proves clearly the positive necessity of planting in 
early youth, and in all classes alike, the genius of repub- 
lican equality, virtue and civil duty, which can only be 
done effectually by regulating the education of youth by 
law, so as to make it general, uniform, and systematick ; 
for the pride and desire of distinction in the rich, tho' 
few, with the obstinacy of some and the poverty of others, 
requires a positive law that shall open the door to the tem- 
ple of knowledge to all classes without reserve, respect or t,t"'Ml(ra".uiiiform 
distinction of person. Strongly impressed with such feel- retruiatod i>V law. 
ings and sentiments and ardently desirous to put in mo- 
tion at once this wheel of mental independence, and enable 
man the more fully thus to become acquainted with him- 
self and his God. 

1st, Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the 
State of ISTorth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the 
authority of the same, that the members of the General 
Assembly shall, at the time, and in the manner of recom- 
mending Justices of the peace for the several Counties county commis- 

, . ^„ . ^ . sioners for the edu- 

m this State, proceed to recommend a suitable person m ciition ot the poor 

' ^ .... ti) Ik> ajiiMiiiited by 

each Captain's Company or District in their County to act th*^' ii'si^^'ature. 
as a Commissioner for the education of the poor of said 
County, who shall be commissioned by the Governor, shall 
hold their offic^ during good behavior, and the said Com- 
missioners so appointed together with the Chairman of 
the County Court (who shall be ex officio chairmnn of the 
Board), Shall form a board of Commissioners for the 
County wherein they reside, and a majority being present 
shall annually elect a Secretary if necessary for the fur- 
therance and support of the objects and end for which 
they were appointed, and shall appoint a Treasurer who eo*'|ln*tycom^mission 
shall enter into bond with good and sufficient security, 
made payable to the chairman of said board and his sue- 



232 



Asiii:'i5 School Bill. 



cessors in office for the beiu tit of the State in such sum as 
said board shall require, which bond shall be lodged with 
the Cderk of the County Court for safe keeping; together 
with a certificate of the appointment so made of Treasurer 
under the hand and seal of the Chairman aforesaid, which 
bond shall be sueable and recoverable as other State bonds 
now are or may be, and shall allow him a fair compensa- 
tion for his services to be fixed by said Board. 

2d. Be it further enacted. That should any of the 
C^ommissioners so appointed refuse to act, remove out of 
the District or die, then and in that case, any three Jus- 
iiuhe^commissi<m. ticcs of the Peace of Said Counties, including the Chair- 
man, may appoint some person to fill said vacancy untill 
the ensuing Legislature, when the same and all other va- 
cancies shall be filled as above. 

3d. Be it further enacted, That as soon as the said 
Board of Commissioners for any County has organized 
themselves as prescribed in the first section of this act, 
the Chairman of the Board shall procure from under the 
hand and seal of the Clerk of the County Court thereof a 
certificate of the organization of the same ; that the Treas- 
urer has been appointed and entered into a sufficient bond, 
for the faithful performance of his duty, the said certifi- 
cate shall be presented to the Treasurer of the State, who 
u])()n renewino- the order of s-iid Chairman, shall place or 
cause to be placed in the hands of the said Treasurer, by 
semi annual i)avnifnts, the pmount which raav be appro- 
])i'iated lo said County as hereafter mentioned, viz: 



Appropriation 
from state trea- 
sury. 



Amounts to be 
appropriated to 
each county left 
blank in the bill. 



Anson $ 

Ashe 

Buncombe 

Brunswick 

Blake 

Bertie 

Beaufort 



TO THE COUNTY OF 

Bladen 

Camden 

Columbus 

Carteret 

Chowan 

Cabarrus 

Craven 



Caswell 

Chatham 

Currituck 

Roberson 

Surry 

Sampson 

Wake 



Ashe's Schooi- Bii.l. 238 

Cumberland -$ Jones Xash 

Davidson Haywood Onslow 

Duplin Lenoir Orange 

Edgecombe Stokes Pas(|uotank 

Franklin Tyrrel Perquimons 

Greene Wilkes Pitt 

Gates Warren Person 

Guilford Lincoln $ Rutherford 

Granville Martin Richmond 

Halifax Mecklenburg Rowan 

Hyde Montgomery Randolph 

Hertford Moore Rockingham 

Johnston Xorth Hampton Washington 

Iredell Xew Hanover Wayne 

which said sums are hereby appropriated annually out of 
any monies in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, and 
the receipt of the several Treasurers hereby appointed, 
shall be a sufficient voucher in the hands of the Treasurer 
of the State in the settlement of his accounts, 

4th. Be it further enacted, That the Board of Coui 
missioners for the several Counties, shall annually on some 
certain day to be fixed and agreed upon, among them- 
selves, a majority being present, proceed to divide in the 
hands of their Treasurer to be by him kept, the sum so 
allotted to said county among the several Commissioners 
thereof for the benefit of the education of such children, a|'™,riinfi'Thc^^^^^ 
whose parent, Guardian or friend in the estimation of ?v"iai\^'hiidn'lfare 
said Commissioners, is or mav be unable to defray the ni(iinu'iit><ifan 

, (, 11,1 "• 1 /-( • • • / 1 English education. 

expense thereoi, and he the said Commissioner is hereby 
authorized and required to take all lawful means, to cause 
the same to be taught the rudiments of an English educa- 
tion, and the order of said Commissioner shall be a good 
voucher in the hands of the Treasurer of the said Board 
in the settlement of his accounts ; but the Treasurer shall 
not be allowed to issue to any one Commissioner a greatei 
amount than shall be allotted to his District unless other 
wise ordered bv the Board. 



234 



AsxiE'ts St'HooL Bill. 



Commissioners t( 
report to the 
governor. 



5l1i. jBc it iuriher enacted, that on or before the first 
day of Xovtmber in each and every year, the chairman of 
each and every Board of ConnniSfcioneis in the several 
Counties in this State, shall cause a full and fair state- 
ment to be made out, and filed in the Governor's ofiice of 
this State, and by him to be laid before each succeeding 
Legislature showing the sum received by such Board, the 
number of children instrncted at the public expense, the 
term and price of tuition, and if any, how many deprived 
of instruction for the want of funds or other causes, 

6th. Be it further enacted that the Treasurer of the 
several Boards of Commissioners, appointeel and commis- 
sioned as aforesaid, shall on or before the first of Novem- 
ber in each and every year, settle and account with the 
Treasurer of the State, for the sum or sums so deposited 
with or paid over to him as before specified, and the 
Treasurer of eaeh Treasurer of the State is hereby authorized to receive in 
comunssion'ers'to Settlement or liquidation of the same, the receipt of any 
or all of the Commissioners so appointed, by this act, coun- 
tersigned by the Chairman and Clerk of the County Court 
th0reo'f, which receipts so signed shall be allowed the 
Treasurer of the board in the settlement of his accounts, 
and the said Treasurer of the Board shall not be eligible 
to reelection untill, he produce to this board the certificate 
of such settlement with the Treasurer of the State. 

In House of Commons 11th Dec. 1824, read the First 
Time and passed and referred to the Com. on Education. 

In House of Commons 13tli Dec. 1824. Ordered to lie 
on the Table. 

In House of Commons 20th Dec. 1824. Called up and 
ordered to be printed. 

In House of Commons 3d Jan. 1825, read the Second 
Time, amended and postponed indefinitely. 



render an account. 



Clerk's entries on 
the bill in the 
House 



-From Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1S24- 



5. COMMITTEE 0> PLAN OF EDUCATION. 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Commons of the 
State of North Carolina, That the Honorable John Louis 
Taylor, the Eeverend Joseph Caldwell, Peter Browne, f,^,m^,jtjgg to pre. 
Esq., and the Honoi-able Duncan Cameron, be, and they catepoor'chiidren 

11 1 1 J r- -r» 1 appointed 

are hereby requested to prepare a plan or system oi Pub- 
lic Education for the instruction of Children of poor or 
indigent parentage, and that they report the same to the 
next General Assembly of this State. 

Besolved further, That his Excellency the Governor 
communicate these Resolutions to the Commissioners re- 
spectively named in the preceding resolution^ 

—Laws of N. C, 182Jf-25, p. 96. 



' This resolution was introduced in the House of Commons, Jan. 3, 
1825, by K. H. Jones, of Warren. See House Journal, 1824-25, p. 133- 



•rsr, 



6. HAYWOOD'S PLAN TO CREATE A LITERARY FUND. 

With respect to the stock to be purchased with the pro- 
ceeds of the Treasury Xotes issued and to be issued aud 
sold, the Public Treasurer, strictly speaking, would, per- 
certain stock to li^ps, be more withiu the line of his official duty, were he 
oTa hmd fOT edli"^ to remain silent, whilst this stock would of course, fall 
^*^^°"' into the common mass of that which is already owned by 

the state ; but bearing in mind that the General Assembly 
has long and anxiously sought the means of creating a 
fund, without resorting to taxation, which might ulti- 
niately prove commensurate to the providing the means 
Lifebeenconside?- <^f education, throughout the state, for that portion of our 
"ome mefJsTo^es- citizcus who may, from time to time, be found destitute of 
without taxation, them; he ventures on the liberty of respectfully submit- 
ting whether this stock, should it be thought expedient so 
to appropriate it, might not well be considered as laying 
the foundation of such fund, and forming, at least, a hope- 
ful beginning. 

— From Beport of John Haywood, Trcas., to Assembly, 
182Jf. 



LA-i6 



7. HAYWOOD'S PLAN APPROVED BY WESTERN 
CAROLINIAN. 

We are mucli pleased in seeing that the subject of Pub- 
lic kSchouls has again been brought to the attention of our 
Legislature. We hope it will meet with better success 
than at the two preceding sessions. 

Treasurer Haywood, in the last paragraph of his Re- pian approved, 
port, with a delicacy peculiar to himself, has pointed out 
the means for a school fund, which, if adopted, will make 
a "hojDeful beginning.'" It is the counsel of age and ex- 
perience, speaking to our members : it should not be dis- 
regarded. 

It is surely the duty of all governments to attend to 

the education of the rising generation. Other states of 

the Union have done much already ; but what has ^N^ortli 

Carolina, as yet, done ^ Literally nothing! As, how- J)^ty,)f^lJegovcl•n- 
,.l•,• . i}i2 • J. ±. ij. meiit to educate 

ever, our means at this time are insuincient to adopt a sys- rising generation, 

, • • rv n 1 1 North Carolina Iras 

tem and carry it into ettect, all that at present can be donenothingas 

yet. 

expected, is for the legislature to create a fund, set it 
a])art, and pledge it to the purposes of education: it will 
soon increase ; and in a few years, may be the means of 
diffusing the blessings of knowdedge to thousands of the 
needy sons and daughters of North-Carolina. 

We observe that the subject, in another shape, has also Ashe's plan not 

'' '- approved. 

been brought before the Legislature. Mr. Ashe has intro- 
duced a resolution, in which he is for completing the 
whole system at once. His zeal in the cause has mislead 
him. When we have resolved to rear an edifice, prudence 
requires that the means for doing so should first be pro- 
vided. And if we attempt to adopt a system of Poor 
Schools, it would be well enough to provide the necessary 
fund for doing so. We should do one thing at a time — 
for by attempting too much at once, the whole may fail. 
If the present Legislature adopts the recommendation 

n ,1 rp 11 ii^ J? 1 1 • • J) -J. • Only a beginning 

OT the ireasurer, and makes a hopeful beginning, it is need now be made. 

237 



Plan the most 
fcasi1)le. 



238 Haywood's Plan Approved, 

all we ought to expect at present ; and by so doing; they 
will be laying the ground-work of a system that will do 
them immortal honor. 

— Westeim Caroliuian, Dec. 1 , 182 Jf. 

Committee a > ^^ ^^^ pleased to obseiwe, that the suggestion of Treas- 

tTproviciefund^'" ^^rer Haywood, relative to the formation of a 'Tund/' the 
ore ucatiou. avails 01 wliicli should be applied to the support of com- 
mon schools throughout the State, has been met by a be- 
coming liberality on the part of the Legislature. A com- 
mittee has been appointed, (as will be perceived by refer- 
ence to the proceedings of the legislature) to bring in a 
bill on the subject. Let this fund only be established by 
law, and, to use the apt language of the Treasurer, a "hope- 
ful beginning" will have been made. 

As v/e observed in a former number of our paper, this 
plan for the support of common schools, appears the most 
feasible of any we have heard suggested: in fact, we be- 
lieve it is the only one that could ultimately produce a 
permanent system for the maintenance of free schools. 
We know that the division of each county into convenient 
districts, and the assessment of a tax "upon each indi- 
vidual, according to his property," appears the most plaii- 
sible to a superficial observer ; and might, perhaps, as a 
temporary measure, answer very well. But we are afraid 

People complain of. ,_,, iii 

taxation, and will it would not do as permanent means. Ihe people already 

not approve of this '- . ' 

nieans of establish- cQjnplain of an exccss of taxation; and should this lauda- 

mg schools. -•- 

ble project be attempted to be carried into effect by imme- 
diate taxation, we have our fears that the whole plan 
would become unpopular ; and such is the force of popular 
favor in our country, that no measure in opposition to it 
can be carried into successful operation. The legislature 
may enact laws for a dozen years in succession — but if 
they are not palatable to the people, they will remain a 
dead letter in the statute-book. 

— ^yes^ern. Carolinian, Doc. 21, 182Jf. 



8. KEVIEW OF OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS; NORTH CARO- 
LINA IRtiED TO ESTABLISH SCHOOLS.— 
1 AND II, BY A. B. 

I. For the Western Cx\.rolijVian. 

Mr. White : Goveruor Holmes, in bis mesBagCj has 
alluded to the excellent system of common schools, in the 
state of Connecticut. President Dwioht, in the 4th vol. Review of the 

^ ' school system of 

of his Travels, has given a particular and interesting a'-- l^.^.tlcut '*' *^"" 
count of the school system in that state. "For the sup- 
port of the schools, (says he) the state pays out of the 
treasury, annually, the sum of two dollars upon every 
thousr.nd dollars in the list of each school society, to its 
committee, for the benefit of the schools within its limits. 
It also pays to these societies, half yearly, the interest 
arising from the school fund. To form this fund, the 
state sold part of a tract of land, called ''the Connecticut 
Reserve," lying on the southern border of Lake Erie, with- 
in the present state of Ohio. The principal sum arising 
from this source, was, in the treasury books, in May, 1821, 
$1,700,000. But in order to entitle a school society to 
their proportion of this money, their committee must c( r- 
tify that the school in said society has been kept, for the 
year preceding, in all respects, according to the directions 
of the statute regulating schools ; and that all the monies 
drawn from the public treasury for this purpose, have 
been faithfully applied and expended, in paying and 
boarding instructors. 

If these monies are misapplied, they are forfeited to 
the state. If the committees make a false certificate, thev 
forfeit sixty dollars. Eacli school society is to appoint 
suitable persons, not exceeding nine, to be overseers, or 
visitors, of all the schools within their limits. It is the 
duty of the overseers to examine the instructors; to dis- 
place such as may be found deficient, or will not conform 
to their regulations; to superintend and direct the instruc- 

289 



240 



N. C. Urged to Establish Sc?iool8. 



other New Eng- 
land states. 



New York system 
described. 



tion of the children in religion, morals and manners ; to 
appoint public exercises for them ; to visit the schools 
twice, at least, during each session ; particularly to direct 
the daily reading of the Bible, by such children as are 
capable of it, and their weekly instruction in some ap- 
proved catechism; and to recommend that the master con- 
clude the exercises of each day with prayer. 

The system of education in the other Xew-England 
states, does not differ much from that of Connecticut. The 
expenditures of Massachusetts (without the aid of a pub- 
lic fund, of $1,700,000,) in support of public schools, is 
equally liberal. The city of Boston alone, expends, an- 
nually, on its schools, $70,000. Here are schools of ever/ 
grade, from the Primary, up to the Latin Grammar and 
classical schools, in which youth are prepared for the Uni- 
versity, or acquire a very superior English education. 

Till within a few years, the common schools in the state 
of ^New-York were under miserable regulations. That 
state now has a school fund, which, though not equal to 
that of Connecticut, is very respectable. The writer is not 
able to state the precise amount of that fund, or how it 
was raised ; but 12 or 15 years ago, it amounted to nearly 
$500,000, and its annual income was more than $36,000. 
The system of education in this state, when completed, is, 
that every four square miles shall have its school, under 
proper regulations. These regulations, as well as those of 
Connecticut, respect the qualifications of instructors. The 
call for "cheap'' masters, has gradually given place to the 
more important one for well qualified instructors. The 
state of Js'ew-York, by the adoption and prosecution of its 
present enlightened system of education, will acquire more 
real glory, than by its far famed ''Great Canal." — ^The one 
will give her wealth ; the other intelligence : the one will 
convey her productions speedily and cheaply to market, 
and extend her commerce west of the Mississippi — from 
the other Avill issue her future Clintons, and Bro^^^lS, and 



N. C. Ukged to Establish Schools. 241 

Hamiltons ; and a free, intelligent, enterprising po^^ula- 
tion, at which, tyrants will tremble ! 

But is it not time for I*^orth-Carolina to do something Plan for North 

Carolina. 

for the education of her children ? The establishment of 
a few schools, at convenient places in each county, for 1-3 
or 1-2 of the year, would be of vast importance to the 
State. If we cannot have a school for every four square 
miles, let us have one for every sixteen, or every twenty, 
or every thirty, square miles. And let us have, in differ- 
ent parts of the State, schools of a higher grade, at which 
young men may obtain suitable qualifications for school- 
masters, magistrates and legislators. A. B, 

— Western Carolinian, Dec. 21, 182Jf. 

II. For the Western Cajbolinian. 

jVIr. White : I wish to make a few additional remarks 
on the subject of education. When I closed my first com- 
munication, I was speaking with respect to schools of a y. j^ ^^^^^ school 
higher gxade than those at which our children are in gen- etc^^^KiTOcated!^**' 
eral to b© educated. Perhaps we have in our State more 
schools for the languages and sciences than the circum- 
stances of the country call for. The consequence is, they 
are not well patronized. But so far as my acquaintance 
extends, we have not one school, the great object of which 
is to give our young men a superior English education. 
N^or till the great establishment of schools, with teachers 
of competent literary attainments, will there be much de- 
mand for them ; for our youth will probably either aspire 
to a classical education, or be satisfied with such degrees 
of knowledge as those to which their parents attained. 
And yet it is to this last class, to men of their limited ac- 
quirements, that ]S[orth-Carolina is to look for many of 
her instructors, of her magistrates, of her legislators, and 
of the officers of church and state. Establish schools, offer 
suitable salaries to instructors : and, in return, demand 



242 N. C. Ueged to Establish Schools. 

proper qualifications, and you will render a most important 
service to your country. — You will cherish a spirit of en- 
terprise among the citizens; you will open to those born in 
the humblest circumstances, the way to wealth, to useful- 
ness and distinction. 
Have acted as if It seenis to have been a maxim which regulated the 

nothing eonld i- -r • i , • t .i i 

be done. measui'cs 01 our Legislature m preceding years, on the sub- 

ject of education, that nothing could be done. And Grovernor 
Holmes, if I comprehend his meaning, seenis to consider 
general education as desirable, rather than attainable, in 
our present circumstances. The subject, it must be readily 
admitted, is one of much difficulty, as well as one of im- 
mense importance. But if the object is great and desira- 
ble, and not absolutely out of our reach, difficulties should 
not deter us from laboring diligently and perseveringly for 
its accomplishment. We should cheerfully submit to much 
inconvenience, and to much expense, in order to obtain so 
great a treasure, as a good education for our children, and 
in order that our neighbors and the community at large 
may extend the same inestimable blessing to their off- 
spring. 
Location and sup- Both the locatioii aiid the su^jport of the schools will be 
aiHii'suniil'.i'i'irtai'iie attended with some obstacles. But cannot the collected 
wisdom of the State surmount them ? The General As- 
sembly might locate a few in each county, at the most eli- 
gible places, and leave the others to be located by prioi)er 
persons, appointed for that purpose. Or whilst they as- 
signed the number of schools to each county, according to 
its population, or some other principle, they might leave 
tlieir location to the •inhabitants. 
Proof that we are -^i^cl as to the fuiids for the suj^port of the schools, can 
schools! ^'^^" they not be obtained without impoverishing the people, or 
drawing on their purses beyond what they will cheerfully 
bear ? Here is the greatest difficulty. Overcome this and 
all the others will readily yield. But in case of war, or 
foreign invasion, North Carolina could easily raise, equip 



]Sr. C. Ukged to Establish Schools. 243 

and support in the field, 1000 men. — And can she not with 
equal ease if that number is needed, employ 1000 instruc- 
tors half of the year ? North-Carolina expends annually 
several millions of dollars for foreign commodities ! Can 
she not employ to better advantage, one or two hundred 
thousand dollars within her own bounds, in educating her 
children ? The money thus expended will not be sent out 
of the country. It will be still in circulation. I do hope 
Mr. Editor that the General Assembly will do this year 
something for the promotion of literature and education, 
more than make "fine speeches," that they will take up 
this important subject with becoming spirit; and by their 
united wisdom, be enabled to originate and carry into suc- 
cessful operation, measures which will extend the blessings , 
of education throughout I^ortli-Carolina. A. B. 

— Westeni Carolinian, Dec. 2S, 1S2J/-. 



9. AN EDGECOMBE APPEAL FOR FREE SCHOOLS. 



Education a ques- 
tion of highest 
importance. 



Instances of our 
public spirit. 



Messrs. Editors: — The press of electioneering specula- 
tions relating to the Presidential Question, which so long 
monopolized public attention, having subsided, the present 
appears to be a proper season to bring before your readers, 
and particularly before the legislative body now in session, 
a subject which must be allowed by all reflecting persons 
to be of the highest importance. This subject is, the GEN- 
ERAL diffusion of useful learning; or the education of 
the rising generation — the POOR, as well as the rich. 

The State of North-Carolina is distinguished for her 
patriotism and public spirit. The costly yet invaluable 
statue of Washington, will remain for ages a noble monu- 
ment of her liberality, and will teach, with a silent though 
irresistible eloquence, the pure doctrines of pure republi- 
canism, to generations yet unborn. Her generous provi- 
sions, also, for Internal Improvements, for Geological Ex- 
periments, &c., &c., reflect upon her enterprise the most 
unequivocal honour. It is gratifying to be able to say so 
much of our large and respectable State, but we would say 
more. Happy indeed, could we boast, mth the New Eng- 
land and some other commonwealths, that all our youth 
have the means of instruction placed within their reach ! 
We should then feel a well-grounded confidence, that our 
civil and religious institutions, being well understood and 
justly appreciated, Avould go down to our descendants, in 
their purity ; that we should not be far in the rear of any 
community in the "march of mind," and that, in defiance 
of the ordinary vicissitudes of life, and the fluctuations 
of pecuniary affairs, our immediate and remote posterity 
would be secure in the possession of a good, of which no 
events and no human power could deprive them. 

At a cursory and inconsiderate glance, the wealthy ap'- 
pear to have little or no interest in the extension of elemen- 



244 



An AprEAL for Free Schools. 245 

tary and other learnins; anions: the less favored classes. A The rich are inter- 

•^ . . 7 . . ested in educating 

closer view, a minuter investigation, will demonstrate the the roor. 
fact to be otherwise. Some sensible writer has informed 
us, and experience corroborates his calculation, that prop- 
erty, however large, rarely descends further than the third 
generation; often it is entirely annihilated by the second, 
and not infrequently, it is swept away, by unfortunate 
prodigality, by ill advised speculation, or unavoidable casu- 
alty, from him who originally acquired it. Ko man, hov*'- 
ever opulent his circumstances may now be, can know as- 
suredly, that it will be in his power, ten years hence, to 
educate, from his individual resources a favorite son; and 
still less can he know, that that son will have the ability to 
procure the adequate instruction for a succeeding race. 

What an easy and simple and effectual barrier against 
contingencies so probable, is it within our means to apply ! 
By the appropriation of some of the public lands, a pro- 
prietorship in which is felt by nobody, or by the laying of a partTflhe'^iubiic* 
small tax, which could not be oppressive, and which would suppoiTil'hooii'^° 
excite complaint in none but the most sordid and ignorant, 
how incalculable an advantage might be conferred, not only 
upon those who are now on the stage of life, but upon the 
countless thousands who are yet to make their appearance ! 
Among whom must be found the teachers, the pleaders, the 
jurors, the judges, the generals, the legislators, and the 
go\ernors of a great people, who may look upon us, as at 
once their progenitors and their benefactors. 

While, Messrs. Editors, we feel a commendable pride in 
what our State has done, and is doing to profit its popu- 
lation and exalt its dignity, let us ask those upon whom the 
lights of literature and science have shone with more or 
less effulgence, if there exists not a something which occa- 
sionally causes regret ; which excites a feeling of unpleas- 
ant mortification ; and which even mantles the cheek witli (^^,^^^,^..^^ ,.-^^1^ of 
a blush ? What is this something ? Is it not the general feeui&ortifi^' 
luant of literary knowledge, and that of the lowest kind ™^'""' 



24G An Appeal for Free Schools. 

which prevails, with very few" exceptions over all the rural 
parts of the State ? It is a melancholy fact, that many of 
onr farmers of wealth and character, nay, even many of 
our instructors and clergy, are notoriously deficient in 
Orthography, and Reading and Writing, and the common- 
est rules of vulgar Arithmetic. How much the influence 
of such men is diminished in society by this deficiency, it 
is needless here to enquire. It is indeed greatly to be la- 
mented, that persons of vigorous natural powers, strong 
common sense, and sufficient experience, should be unable 
decently to exhibit their ideas and assert their talents, 
merely because they possess not the cultivation which, in 
earlier life they might have obtained, under a skilful pre- 

North Carolina ^ o i 

compared with ccptor, in a fcw months. In the Northern States, one 

other states. J^ ' ' 

never meets a native adult who cannot both read and write ; 
we might extend this remark to all persons of fourteen 
years of age. Is it not desirable that our population be 
equally well, instructed ? and what is wanting to effect this 
but the disposition to make a fair cxjDcriment ? 
If we can not do as At the Free ScJiools, in the States of 'New England, "the 

much as New Eng- _ ay 

do"«)mrthiif£rf^^^^ ^'^'^^^ ^^^ ^^^ P'°°^ ^^^^ together." There is no respect of 
persons. The rudiments of useful knowledge are accessi- 
ble to all ; and all avail themselves of the invaluable privi- 
lege. In JSTorth-Carolina, on account of the less density 
of our population, it might not be at present, practicable, 
even should it be thought expedient, to accomplish so much. 
But, because we cannot effect every thing, shall we attempt 
nothing? "Half a loaf is better than no bread." If the 
present legislature would, with a seriousness and zeal 
becoming the prodigious importance of the subject, but 

Lpgislature urged , , . . ■ j- j_i ii i ' i / -, 

to make a begin- make a bea,'innino- ; — il tliev could he persuaded to make 

ning. ". .■ ■ ^ 

even a parsimonious appropriation ; or lay even a small tax, 
which would never alarm their constituents — this would 
be something — and something worth while too. In future 
sessions, when the nature and utilitv of the object should 
be better known and consequently better esteemed, more 



An Appeal foe Free Schools. 247 

legislative aid would undoubtedly be given; and more, and 
more — till the end were obtained. 

We presume not, Messrs. Editors, to prescribe to tlio it ishopedno 

-*■ ' mi'inlicr of Legis- 

Honoral)le Assembly, either the means or the manner, by '■><"'•'; " '" "ppose 
which so vast an object as the Elementary Education of "^■'^"''^'^"""'y""'^'^ 
all youth is to be brought about. That Assembly, we are 
happy to say, enrolls among its members several, of high 
respectability, who are known to be favorable to the de- 
sign ; and we charitably hope, that, in a body so wise and 
patriotic, there is not one member opposed to it. 

Lest any misunderstanding should arise, it may be neces- Elementary educa- 

, „ 1 1 -r-n -T , , • -ITT tion defined. 

sary to denne the phrase Elementary instruction. We 
mean by it the common branches of English learning, viz. 
Spelling, Reading, Writing, Cyphering and English Gram- 
mar. These are the only studies which it is indispensabh 
requisite generally to spread amongst all the people. By 
the assistance of these, the student of genius may with fa- 
cility carry himself on to higher and more intricate specu- 
lations ; the student who has no extraordinary mental pow- 
ers will desire to advance no further. This course of edu- 
cation is what is exactly adapted to the wants and business 
of life. More than this, few are desirous to obtain. So 
much, every person should be taught. The dead lan- 
guages, and the abstruser sciences, as they have ever been, 
so they will probably ever continue to be, cultivated b}' 
the few instead of tlie many ; and for their accommodation, 
numerous private institutions of more or less merit, are 
already provided. 

The middle class of society, conjunctly with the poor, what the educa- 
constitutes the great mass, which we denominate cmpliati nu'an's t<)^ciiiirch^ 
cally THE PEOPLE. They are our husbandmen, our"'"'''"'" 
mechanics, and our militia. To animate this important 
mass — to infuse into this great body a SOUL — to breathe 
into it the breath of life — is to multiply the means, and 
facilitate the acquisition of USEFUL LEARA'ING. Are 
we republicans ? Would we perpetuate those principles 



248 An Appeal fok Free Schools. 

which gave us indeiDendence, and for which our intrepid 
ancestors expended their treasures, and shed their blood ? 
— and are we attached to our State and confederative Con- 
stitutions ? There are among us hundreds of brave and 
worthy patriots to whom these sacred principles are un 
known ; — hundreds who are not able to read a word in our 
excellent constitutions ; and unless something be done to 
change materially the aspect of things in this respect, this 
evil will continue, and perhaps increase, till it MAY bring 
about the subversion of our liberties. — Are we christians ? 
From many of our neighbors, and friends, and relatives, 
the BOOK OF LIFE is shut! To them it speaks no 
language neither of terror or of consolation ! and may they 
not some day, like Montezuma, when the sacred Volume 
was handed him by a Spanish Priest — because he could not 
read and know its contents — dash it with contempt to the 
earth ? 
Education pro- But, finally, setting aside both considerations of a politi- 

motes happiness . 

of individuals. cal and religious nature, we ought to encourage a more ex- 
tensive propagation of the means of knowledge among all 
classes, because such a course will reflect back upon us, 
more light and more happiness than we bestow. It will 
be bread cast upon the waters and found after many days. 
Among those who have been only tolerably instructed in 
literature, &c., there ever subsists a species of genteel and 
honorable emulation ; a polite and friendly intercourse. 
They who c^ read, will read, and they who read will be 
prone to communicate to others what has given pleasure 
or instruction to themselves. By this means, conversation 
will assume a more elevated cast, the affections of the heart 
will be exalted and improved, and instead of the ra^ATiess, 
the awkwardness and the uncouth manners which give of- 
fence, and repress sociability, we shall participate in the 
advantages which result from a refined and reciprocal in- 
terchange of the courtesies of life. Our wildernesses and 
solitary places v/ill then blossom like the rose. 



An Appeal, foe Free Schools, 249 

Considerable exertions have recently been made in sev- Meeting held in 

Edo^eeombe to peti- 

eral counties m this State, to effect the obiect of thi.^ com- tion Legislature ; 

' •' division of purpose. 

munication. In Edgecombe, a meeting was held, a few 
months ago, with a view, ultimately to petition the Legis- 
lature. But the novelty of the matter prevented the requi- 
site degree of unanimity. In Pitt, Martin, and elsewhere, 
are many individuals, whose favorable opinion is known. 
I shall, Messrs. Editors, have ralized my present expecta- 
tions, and have accomplished my present object, when somuG 
gentleman of more leisure and ability than myself, shall 
have placed this topic before the public in a better dressed 
or a more attractive form. It is one of immense impor- 
tance, and I shall envy the man his fame and honor, both 
with this age and with posterity, through whose talents and 
influence the blessing of FREE SCHOOLS shall be estab- 
lished upon whatever plan, and rendered accessible to 
every class of the people, in the State of I^orth-Carolina. 

Edgecombe County, ISTov., 1824. 

— Raleigh Register, Dec. 3, 182Jf.. 



18«25 

1. RALEIGH REGISTER ON ^'EDUCATION OF THE POOR." 

2. "P. S." ON EDUCATION. 

3. JUDGE GASTON'S FOURTH OF JULY TOAST. 

4. THE RALEIGH REGISTER DM NECESSITY OF EDUCATION. 

5. PROPOSED HISTORY BY JUDGE MURPHEY. 

6. GOV. BURTON'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

7. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

8. ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS ON EDUCATION. 

9. EDUCATION REPORT OF 1825. 

10. ATTEMPT TO RAISE SCHOOL FUND BY LOTTERY. 

11. THE LITERARY FUND LAW. 

12. MEMORIAL OF ORANGE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION. 

13. LOTTERY FOR PUBLICATION OF NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY. 

14. ATTEMPTED LEGISLATION. 

15. LOTTERIES FOR ACADEMIES REFUSED. 



250 



)ner 
tioii 



1. RALEIGH REGISTER ON "EDUCATION OF THE POOR." 

We congratulate our readers on the appointment of a committee on jiian 

'"' . , , , . „ , ofeiluciitidii: suitsi- 

very able committee lor the purpose ol lormmo; for the ''i^'piim hi»>^«« 

■^ _ ^ -'•■'■ _ '^ Til-evented aetic 

next Legislature, a system for educating the children of ^'^ Leifisiatnre. 
indigent parents in this State. It is a subject that ha- 
long engaged the attention of our most worthy patriots and 
philanthropists, and it is one on the policy of which there 
is no difference of opinion. The venerable framers of our 
Constitution directed such schools to be established, and it 
is time that direction was obeyed. ISTothing has prevented 
it, hut the difficulty of forming a suitable plan for effectin.^ 
the object. We trust this difficulty will vanish before the 
committee to which this subject is now committed. 

— Ealeifjlt liegistrr, Jan. 7 , 1825. 



L'.3l 



2. " P. S." ON EDUCATION. 



For the Western Carolinian. 
Surprising that onr Mx. AVliite: In perusine- the message of Grovernor 

Legislature has not . • i i 

yet provided the Holmes to the Leeislaturc of this state, I was particularJv 

means ot eduea- ^ ^ j. -^ 

^i'*"- and forcibly struck with that part in which he adverts to 

the subject of Free Schools, and institutes the very strik- 
ing contrast between the state of education in Connecticut 
and JSTorth-Carolina. It is, indeed, surprising that a sul>- 
ject so interesting to every philanthropist, so superlatively 
important in a political point of view, and so loudly and 
imperiously demanded by existing circumstances in ouf 
state, should have continued so long without attracting the 
^ special attention and engaging the active exertions of our 

Legislature. Of the utility of Legislative interference, 

Example of New the Ncw-Englaud states exhibit a most splendid and con- 
En giand in provid- ° 
ing schools for the yincine; illustration, in that hiffh state of intellectual cul- 

poor. o ' o 

ture for which their whole population is distinguished. It 
is not in the giant minds of such men as Adams, Webster 
and Everett, that we trace the monuments of their intel- 
lectual superiority ; but it is in those benevolent and politi- 
cal provisions for the general dissemination of education 
and intelligence, which, in the extent of their operation, 
pervade every domestic circle, and afford to the indigent 
parent that consolatory reflection, that a humane and lib- 
eral policy is showering blessings upon his offspring, for 
the attainment of which his own limited resources are in- 
adequate. From this system of education, have emanated 
results the most splendid and encouraging to the active 
philanthropist, and to the politicians of other states. New- 
England, at this moment, presents a population which, for 
intelligence, patriotism and enterprise, is not equalled 
either in Europe or America ; its agriculture and manufac- 
tures are in a constant and uninterrupted march to perfec- 
tifui ; her marine waves its flaa: and rides on the hosom of 



Commereial supre- 
macy of New Eng- 
land the result of 
education. 



252 



p. S. On Education. 253 

every sea, and every port of the civilized world exhibits 
monuments of their adventurous enterprise. But when 
we turn our views from this interesting picture to the con- 
sideration of our own state, the mind is loathe to contem- 
plate the humiliating contrast. Whatever may be said of 
our rapid advancement within a few years past, an inti- 
mate familiarity with the lower order of our population 
is alone requisite to disclose the gross ignorance that exists. 
The dullness and incapacity which is permitted to enter isnorance ofthe 

^ >J i- lower order of our 

our legislative hall, and disgraces us even in the national population, 
representation, and our former tame subserviency to the 
interests and designs of another state, evince most un- 
equivocally the mental debasement of a large portion of 
our population. Those social feelings, ingrafted in our 
nation for the best purposes, urge most irresistibly upon us 
the duty of active exertion in ameliorating the condition 
of this wretched part of our population: And when we 
consider that (notwithstanding the infinite diversity of 
fortune and mental cultivation which have originated in 
the peculiar and varied conditions in which chance has 
placed us) we are all originally equal; and that, not un- 
usually, the haunts of wretchedness and poverty contain om- leaders often 
the embryoes of future heroes and statesmen : and when obscure homes. 
we contemplate, how large a portion of those who now con- 
stitute the pride and the glory of their country have 
sprung up from the very mires of obscurity, to their pres- 
ent elevated stations, either under the auspicious influence 
of patronage, or by the buoyancy of native, unassisted 
genius — we find additional inducements to co-operate vig- 
orously in the contemplated design. These are considera- 
tions which apply to all men considered as social beings : 
but there are others which apply more particularly to our- 
selves, considered as citizens of the happiest and only free 
government on earth. The maxim, that "intelligence is 
the life of liberty," is sanctioned by the authority of the intelligence is the 
chief of patriots, and most amply verified by the political "^"^^''^^^'''^y- 



254 



P. S. On Education, 



Education a patri- 
otic duty. 



experience of the last century. The more ignorant the 
people are, the more they are subject to be led astray by 
erroneous opinions, to be deluded by misrepresentations, 
and imposed upon by artifice. And so long as the mass 
of the population continues ignorant, no matter how lib- 
eral and judiciously adjusted the political system may be, 
its existence is destined to be transient. 
Ignorance of the Why is it that Europe has so often witnessed rejjublican 

masses liinders •,-,,•' ••j_' • i?i -x ^ 

repubiiean -overn- institutions, Originating lu succcssiul rcsistanco to oppres- 

ment in Europe. . ,,.. , c- iiii i 

sion, tumbling into the most lurious and bloody anarchy, 
and at length terminating in a despotism more galling and 
oppressive than ever ? It is this : the jDCople of Europe 
do not jDOSsess that intelligence, and consequently that habi- 
tude of reflecting and judging for themselvves, which is 
essential to the permanence of republican institutions. 

This view of the subject renders it ijeculiarly interesting 
to every patriot who contemplates with enthusiasm their 
splendid revolutionary struggle, and the happy and lib- 
eral political system to which it has given birth — who re- 
gards, with abhorrence, the abominable designs of the Holy 
Alliance to repress every burst of liberal feeling through- 
out the world, and who looks forward with delightful an- 
ticipation to that period when our republic shall be a light 
and landmark to the patriot of every clime. 

But not only the permanence of our republican institu- 
tions, but the character and honor of our state imperiously 
demand increased intelligence in the mass of our popula- 
tion. It is humiliating in the highest degree, to behold 
the gigantic strides by which our sister states have sur- 
passed us in the march of improvement. N^otwithstanding 
that here was first formed the spark which afterwards 
blazed in a mighty conflagration throughout the Union, 
yet how little have we profited by this bold and early dis- 
play of American feeling? Our agriculture is nearly 
what it was in tlie days of our fathers; enterprise, of 
evcrv kind, seems to have taken wina's, and fled to some 



have 



other stati 
oiitstrippc 
intellei-tnal and 
commercial attair,' 



d II 



p. S. On Education. 255 

congenial abode ; our political existence has been but barely 
acknowledged ; and, witli very few exceptions, our repre- 
sentation at Washington has been such as to corroborate 
the degrading opinions entertained of our state. It is now 
high time to retrieve our lost honor, and establish our char- 
acter for intelligence, patriotism and enterprize. And in tiu'inasseVthe" 

T 1 . , 1 1 • 1 • n 1 • only sure liasis of 

accomplishing the grand omect, the mteilectual improve- af^ricuitmai and 

„ '~ ^ , . fomiiiercial pros- 

ment of the lower classes must constitute the adamantine pt-rity. 
basis of the whole superstructure. Do this, and agricul- 
ture will feel its genial influence; commerce will wave its 
flag; talents and ability wall mark our representatives; 
foreign influence will vanish from our deliberations, and 
our state assume that rank to which its resources and its 
political duration so eminently entitle it. 

P S 

Lincolnton, 'Dec. 6th, 1824. 

— Western CarGlinian, Jan. 11, 1825. 



3 JUDGE GASTOJf'S FOURTH-OF-JULY TOAST, 1825. 

"VT w w 7v w 7* Vr 

By William Gaston, Esq. — A system of general instruc- 
tion : tlie development of our internal resources: the pure 
and able administration of justice: Let these be the car- 
dinal objects of the policy of North Carolina. 

******* 

— Raleigh Register, July 8, 1825. 



256 



4. THE RALEIGH KEGISTEK ON NECESSITY OF 
EDUCATION. 

At the last session of the Legislature of this State, a ^Jf ™e ?^^'^ oiVted" 
resolution was passed, in which, Chief-Justice Taylor, the 1,';^^^^'^'''" 
Rev. Joseph Caldwell, Duncan Cameron, Peter Browne, 
Esqs., Avere requested to prepare a plan or system of Pub- 
lic Eihtcation, for the instruction of children of poor or 
indigent parents, and report the same at their next meet- 
ing. From the acknowledged ability of the gentlemen ' 
thus desionated, and, the zeal which thev invariably mani- 
fest in promoting such measures as have for their aim, the 
interest of our State, we entertain no doubt, but that the 
wishes of the Assembly will be complied with. 
^Considering education as one of the principal fonnda- Education one of 

-.-,..,-, , . , . ,, the foundations of 

tKins both oi individual and national prosperity, and be- prosperity, 
lieving that in governments framed for the happiness of 
their citizens, it is of the highest importance, that knowl- 
edge should be generally diffused, we sincerely hope that 
'ihe subject will be presented to the consideration of our 
Legislature, in so forcible a manner, as to insure its suc- 
cess. 

In maiiv of our sister States, particularly those of ]^ew Policy of other 

^ «^ _ states to pro\ide 

England, the establishment of public schools is among the *||ti"^j'^|v°fa^f ^"^^ 
most favorable objects of their policy. Surely in a state, 
whose honors and offices .are equally open to the exertions 
of all whose object is to adopt virtue and merit, however 
InimVle the soil from whence they emanate, the most cer- 
tain mode of acquiring for the public the talents of all her 
citizens, is to extend to all as far as practicable, the benefits 
of Education. 

The ]X)verty or loss of parents, ought not to be the means poverty ought not 

f • ; 1 1 1 T f , 1 • , 11 • • 1 to be a hindrance 

01 Withholding irom their countrv, and burying m ob- to individual 

1 -11 \ • T • • 1 1 "tlvancement. 

scurity, those who might have proved its most distinguished 
ornaments. We trust therefore, our Legislators will con- 
sider it among their most sacred duties to adopt immediate 
17 257 



258 The ISTecessity of Education. 

and efficacious steps for establishing public schools. They 
will thus be instruments of rearing a vahiable band of citi- 
zens, who can never be unmindful of their liberality in 
placing within the reach of their exertions, whatever their 
talents may entitle them to. 

—Raleigh Begister, Oct. 28, 1825. 



5. PROPOSED HISTORY BY JUDGE MIRPHEY. 

It is a fact, no doubt known to many of onr readers, that Murphcy to write 

" a (■i\il an<l politi- 

for some vears past, Archibald I). Mnri)hey, Esq., of '•"} ''•^t"'T "f the 

" -■- ' I J7 17 colony and State. 

Orange County, has been engaged in collecting materials 
for an extensive work on IST. Carolina. We have called 
the attention of tlie public to this subject now, because, 
through the information of a friend of Mr. Murj^hey, we 
are enabled to present something like an outline of the 
w^ork. The civil and military history of the State will be 
divided into two parts ; the first embracing our Colonial 
history, and the second, our history since we became a 
sovereio-n State. By way of introduction to the first part, introduction to 

. ^ .7 ^ I '^ colonial history. 

the discovery of Columbus, together with the state of 
Italy in his time, and the reasons which induced men of 
science to adopt the belief of the existence of a continent 
west of Europe, &c., and the discoveries of the two Cabots, 
will be presented — after which follows the history of the 
Charters which have been granted by Royal Authority for 
colonizing l^orth-Carolina, including the first charter and 
that granted Sir Walter Raleigh, whose expeditions, eiforts 
to plant a colony and failure, with his character, trial, 
execution, &c., will be embodied in the work. The his- History of uidian 
tory of the Indian Tribes of Carolina, their territory, pop- 
ulation, military force, moral and social character, &c., 
form the next head in the sub-division of the subject ; after 
which the progress of the colony is considered. Under 
this general head, the author treats of the division of the 
territory-patented, into 1. Virginia — 2. ]N'orth-Carolina 
and 3. South-Carolina— Wars with the Indian Tribes--^ Sy'to (t^s' 
the Charter granted to the Lords Proprietors, wuth the 
history of the Proprietary Government — surrender to the 
Crown — history of Ld. Granville and his agents in Xorth- 
Carolina — commencement of the feuds between the Church 
of England and the Dissenters, with the history of them 
during ihe Colonial Government. This brings the writer 

259 



260 



Peoposed History by Judge Murphey. 



Later colonial 
history. 



History of the 
Revolution in 
North Carolina. 



to the estal)]isliinent of the Royal Government in the Colo- 
ns', the dib^jintes between the Governors and Colonial As- 
semblies, with the firm eondnet of the latter — the extortion 
of Lord Granville's Agents, of Clerks of Conrts, Sheriffs, 
corrnption of the Judges, *fcc., all leading to the history of 
the Regnlation War, as it is termed — the progTess of 
pnblic discontents, proceedings of the mother country, <S:c., 
withdrawal of Governor ]\Iartin — call of a Convention at 
Hillsborongh, its acts, the Governor's proclamation, (fee. 
»fcc. The subject is thus bronght down to the formation 
of a new plan of Government, Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, itc. It IS intended also, that the first part shall em- 
brace a connected history of the legislation of the colony, 
its Judicial history, history of manners during the colo- 
nial government, and a statistical view of the State during 
the same period, population, revenue, &c. 

The second part, viz, our history since 1776, connnences 
with a general view of the State of the American Colonies, 
from 1770 to the Declaration of Independence. Causes 
of discontent with the mother country, and the measures 
adoj^red bv the colonies, come next in order. Then fol- 
low, pre]iarations for war, first measures of IST. C. Assem- 
bly on rhe subject — call of Continental Congress at Phila- 
delphia. 1775 — measures recommended to the colonies — 
commenc( ment of hostilities with the mother country, &c. 
The history of the War, as far as connected with the Work 
of the author, the organization of the Government in 
Xorth-Carolina, and the Acts of Assembly relative to the 
Continental lino of the State, are next given, and we are 
thus brought to the Treaty of Peace. The author then 
briefly reviews the state of Society during the struggle, 
the suspension of Courts of Justice, &c., &c., and in consid- 
ering the history of the provision made for the troops of 
the Continental line, he gives in detail an account of the 
Certificate debt of jSTorth-Carolina, different denomina- 
tions of Certificates, amount of each, plan for redemption, 



Proposed History by Jl'dge Mt-rphey. 261 

Arc, and a liistorv of the ])a|K'r currency of Xortli-Carolina, 

different emissions, anionnt, ])lan of redemi)tion, &c. The influence of Moore 

und Davie ; state 

next snbiect is the progress of Society and manners after ?*' ^'ociety «fter 

•' 1 e . the Revolution. 

the war closed, ai^pointment of Alfred Moore, AttOTiiey 
General — General Davie — inflnence of these two j;entle- 
men npon the state of manners, inspiring respect for the 
Courts of Justice, &c., organizing of the Conrts nnder the 
new Government — political condition of the State from 
the close of the war to the meeting of the Federal Conven- 
tion — Formation of the Federal Government — Proceed- 
ings of Korth-Carolina on the Federal Constitution, its 
adoption, &:c. — History of the cession of Tennessee to the < nher topics to be 

treated. 

United States — Estahlishment of the I'niversity of Xortli 
Carolina — fnnds set apart for it — History of this Institu- 
tion, its resources, defects in its charter. The political 
history of the State, from the adoption of the Federal Con 
stitntion to the year 1825, is next considered. — Origin of 
political parties — causes why North-Carolina has not occu- 
pied her proper place in the Confederacy — History of the 
Legislation of the State, from 1776 — Judicial History, 
History of Manners, &:c. Finances — Internal Improve- 
ment — History of. Plans, kc. Statiscal view of the State. 
The work will contain also. Biography of eminent men of 
JSTorth-Carolina, with Portraits of them, and will be en- 
riched with a Map of the State, and Maps of the several 
Counties. There are other subjects connected with oui 
history, the details of which, though consisting of events, 
occurring at different j^ei'iods, will prol)ably be distinctly 
presented, in a connected manner — such as the history of 
the settlement of our Boundary, of the several religious 
denominations, of the Declaration of Independence by the 
people of Mecklenburg, in 1775, of the Cape Fear Asso- 
ciation, and of the North-Carolina Bar. 

The Geology and Mineralogy of the State, 1. Of the Geoio,s,'y and mm 
main ridge of mountains — 2. Secondary ridges — 3. Table 
Lands — 4. Alluvial region — 5. Valleys of the primary 



'262 Proposed History by Judge Murjphey. 

Elvers, &c. — Elevations of each above tide water. The 
meteorology of Korth-Carollna In each of the foregoing 
divisions, Mean Temperature, Humidity of the Atmos- 
phere, &c., and with the aid of men of science, the Botany 
of the State will also be allowed a place in the work. 

iiiipuriaiieoofthe Wo havo thus glvon to our readers, at some length, the 
substance of the information which we have received, as 
we can not but believe it will be interesting. A history of 
jS^orth-Carolina has long been a desideratum among our 
most intelligent men, and we heartily congratulate them 
on the prospect of receiving one at the hands of their dis- 
tinguished compeer, Mr. Murphey. Williamson's His- 
tory is miserably defective, scarcely the skeleton of a his- 
tory. Judge Martin, nov/ of Louisiana, but formerly of 
this State, had, before he left us, collected many materials 
for a history of .the state, which he carried with him. It 

Martin's collection is now some 15 vcars or more since, and we have heard 

of materials. ^ "-' ' _ _ 

uothlng of his v/ork. His supply of materials, we are in- 
formed Vv^as very good, far better than that which has been 
within the reach of Mr. Murphey ; for Judge Martin hav- 
ing first undertaken the task, collected the originals of 
many manuscripts of which no copy was left. If Judge 
Martin does not intend to finish his work, it is much to be 
wished that his materials could be procured and placed in 
the hands of Mr. Murphey. It is, in our view, an object 
so desirable to have a o;ood work on ISTorth-Carolina, that 

Deserves attention "^ ' 

of Legislature. ^}j^> attention of our Legislature would not be improperly 

directed to this subject, 
.vnaiysisofworkto ^^ addition to the abovc, we learn, that Mr. Murphey 
x'piintei. ^^^^i| probably publish during the next session of the Legis- 

lature, a pamphlet containing at length an analysis of the 
proposed work. 

— Raleigh Register, Nov. 11, 1825. 



6. GOV. BURTOrS MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

If the subject just alluded to be important [internal p^^y^^^^. e,],„..,,i„„ 
improvements] , how much more so is that of Public Edu- importan"ee*t^i^^^^ 
cation ! Whilst the former regards the face of the coun- Juent""' '™'^*""^''^" 
try, and the pecuniary interests of its inhabitants ; the lat- 
ter is wholly solicitous about the distinguishing feature of 
our nature, the moral habits of man, and his ''felicity both 
temporal and eternal." The latter derives additional 
claims to consideration, from the very difficulties which 
surround, and the time requisite to digest and mature 
any efficient system connected with it. But above all, it ,x 
has, in comparison, one recommendation, which never 
fails to be felt and understood by the mass of mankind — 
it requires a less fund to conduct it. — A system of Inter- 
nal Improvements, only requij*es that it should be well 
planned, liberally encouraged, and ably conducted, and 
the end is attained — success must ensue. But though the 
other asks nothing more, still the difference of the materi- 
als to be wrought upon, defies anything like the same con- 
clusion. Yet surely difficulties, though they rise at everv 

' ^ ^ Difficulties in the 

step, shall not prevent us from making: some eiiort, from pathoicanying 

, , , out plan of wliica- 

undertaking some system. If- the preservation of our po- ''"'i- 
litical principles in their original purity, be of any value 
— if the moral character of the people, be matter of mo- 

Tho moral charac- 

ment — if "honest merit should have fair play" in our elec- trr of pcopir and 

-^ '-' the pH'scrvation of 

tions, then let us not delay, but immediately begin the cJp'^i^''!leH,a\''/i"he 
important work! Whilst Public Education is unestab - |;;*,?em1,\-'p7,bHc *" 
lished, and its kindly influences are not generally felt, it 
is more than useless to address the great body of the peo- 
ple on the subject of principles. They must fully under- 
stand, before they can duly appreciate their political bless- 
ings. If nothing more can be done, at least enable them 
to understand and judge for themselves, when they are in- 
structed. It but seldom occurs that the uuderstandinsr is 



263 



264 



Gov. BuRTox ox Educatiox. 



Results of neglect- 
ing to educate the 
people. 



There eau be no 
real freedom with- 
out education. 



What other .states 
have done. 



A plan of primary 
schools will be 
reported by com- 
mittee. 



improved and the mind eularijed, without a consequent im- 
provement of the moral feeling. But while the people 
continue nninformed, your annual Assembles may enact — 
your Courts of Law may arraign and })unish — but yoin 
enactments will be void — your punishments be but peri- 
odical exhibitions, serving, for a moment, to frighten or 
amuse, yet destitute of the wholesome, the desirable influ- 
ence of just examples. In such a state of things, it cannot 
be expected that moral worth, that intellectual attain- 
ments, and pure principles should have that v/eight and. 
influence that they should connnand. If so, are not the 
people unequivocally left the mere slaves of passion and 
prejudice ? Have they, in strictness, that free agency, 
which is the pride of the rational, as it is justly the boast 
of the truly freeman ? True, indeed, it is, that the free 
agency of the mere animal is preserved, but that of the 
man is wholly lost. Surely, then, it is time that such a 
condition of things should be deprived of its legal sanc- 
tion. The provision for Public Education is a noble fea- 
ture, which stands in fine relief, in most of our State Con- 
stitutions. In most of the States too, legislative enact- 
ments have, in consequence, been made, scattering through- 
out their limits the invaluable treasures of Education. 
Yet North Carolina has, in a great degree, been deprived 
of the advantages Avliich might have followed from her own 
constitutional provision. True, it is, we have a Univer- 
sity, justly the pride of our State and the sources of ex- 
tensive usefulness. And it is also true, that, at the last 
Session of the General Assembly, a resolution was adopted 
appointing some of our most distinguished citizens to di- 
gest and report to the present session a plan of "Primary 
Schools." It seems therefore unnecessary further to draw 
your attention to this subject, as the report will no doubt 
bear the siamp of the well-known. and distinguished abili- 
ties which have been enlisted to prepare it. 



— House Journal, 1825-26, i^p. 98 and 99. 



7. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATIOX. 

Senate Committee on Edncation: Charles A. Hill, senate committee. 
Franklin; William M. Sneed, Granville; George L. Da- 
vidson, Iredell; Edmnnd Jones\ Wilkes; Micajali T. 
Hawkins, Warren. 

— Senate Journal, 1825-26, p. 9. 



House Committee on Education: William Herbert, Hou^^e eommittee. 
Ashe ; William Unthank, Guilford ; John E. Lewis, Cas- 
well ; James Houze, Franklin ; William A. Bozman, Wash- 
ington; Benjamin Best, Duplin; Warren Alford, Rolie- 
son ; JSTathaniel Gordon, Wilkes ; James L. Hill, Iredell ; 
Nicholas J. Drake, ISTash ; J. J, Brooks, Chatham ; John 
Walton, Gates ; John J. McMillan, Bladen ; Henrv Dock- 
erj, Richmond ; Charles Edwards, Greene. 

— House Journal 1825-26, p. 10 . 



' Succeeded by Richard Dobbs Speight, Craven. Mr. Jones had to 
go home before the Legislature adjourned. Senate Journal, 1825-26. 
p. 38. 



265 



Beaufort petition 
on free schools. 



Inquiry about re- 
port of committee 
appointed by Leg- 
islature of 1824. 



School fund and 
plan of education 
to be created. 



8. ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS 0> EDFCATIOJf. 

Monday, Dec. 12, 1825.- — -Mr. Williams presenicu the 
petition^ of sundry inhabitants of the comity of Beaufort, 
on the subject of free schools; which was referred to the 
committee on Education. 

— Senate Journal^ 1825-1826, p. So. 

Mr. Ashe" presented the following resolution: 
'^Resolved, That the committee on Education be in- 
structed to ascertain and report to this House, as soon as 
possible, whether the committee appointed by the last Gen- 
eral Assembly of this State, for the purpose of digesting a 
plan for the instruction of the children of the poor in 
the several counties in this State, intend reporting thereon 
or not ; and, if not, that the said committee be further in- 
structed to inquire into the expediency of reporting a bill 
creating a fund for, and a plan by which common schools 
may be established for the convenient instruction of the in- 
digent youth in every county in this State." 

On motion, ordered that the said resolution lie on the 
table. 

— Home J ouDiaJ, 1825-26, p. 1S5. 



' This petition has not been found. 
'■^Samuel P. Ashe, Cumberland. 



266 



9. EDUCATIO?f REPORT OF 1825. 

Tuesday, Dec. 13, 1825. — Received from Ins Excel- 
lency the Governor, by his Private Secretary, Mr. Camp- 
bell, the following- commnnieation : 
To the Honorable the General Assembly of the State of 

ISTorth Carolina. 

Gentlemen, — I have the honor herewith, to transmit the Message on report 

. of committee to 

report of a committee directed by the last Lee'isiatnre to prepare plan of 

'- ... primary schools. 

prepare a plan or system of public education for the in- 
struction of children of poor and indigent parentage. 

I have the honor to be, gentlemen. 

Your obedient servant, H. G. Burton. 

December 13, 1825. 

—House Journal 1825-26, p. lJf7. 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO 
PREPARE A SYSTEM OF GENERAL EDUCA- 
TION. 

The undersigned, directed by a resolution of the last 
Legislature, to prepare a plan or System of Public Educa- 
tion, for the instruction of poor or indigent parentage, 
respectfully Report — 

That although extensive plans of Public Education, sup- pians of other 

,11 'n J. • J.' 1 1 • states not adapted 

ported by muniiicent appropriations, have been m success- to North Carolina 

/•I .. CIO c -111 conditions. 

lul operation m many oi the States, for a considerable 
period, yet no one, that they had an opportunity of 
considering, seems to be adapted in its details, to the civil 
divisions of this State, the extent of its territory, or the 
scattered residence of our population. One indispensable 
requisite in any plan to be adopted is, that it shall be cal- ^lf"ifui7ff*^^,, 
culated to diffuse equal benefits throughout the whole of trgmm^t mim- 
the State, and extend its salutary influence to the greatest rra.° ^^'"^ ^' 
possible proportion of the poor and indigent of every 
county. Other States have been enabled to avail them- 

267 



268 



Education Report of 1825. 



Efteot of schools on cient niuiil^er 

the morals and 



selves of the preexisting' divisions of townships, })ai'ishes. 
and ecclesiastical societies, converting them into school 
districts, which, from the fnllness of their population, the^ 
have oftener been obliged to subdivide, for the purpose of 
avoiding too numerous a collection of scholars for one 
teacher, than to combine for the sake of procuring a suffi- 
In some states, one sixth, and in others, 

.^tafes''"*^"' "*'^^' *^-^^® fourth of the entire population is receiving instruc- 
tion, annually, in common schools ale>ne ; and so decided 
and unequivocal have been the ben( ticial effects, of these 
institutions, upon the morals and intelligence of tlie citi- 
zens, and the consequent prosperity of the ^'tates where 
they have been best sustained by public patronage, that an 
univcTsal conviction has resulted, that the attention of an 
enlightend legislature could not be drawn to a subject 
more momentous in its nature, or more vitally crndueive 
to the stability and only solid glory of a free government 

Our first obstacle The first obstaclc to be surmounted is that iiresented 

111 establishing '■ 

it^y^oSntYerin^" ^^' ^^^^ inequality of the counties, both in extent and popu- 
iTtioiu''"*^ ''"''"" l«^i<^ib as relative to each other; and, in many of the coun- 
ties, the density of the population in some parts, and its 
thinness in others. This difficulty can only be effectually 
obviated by a law foundeel upcm a local knowledge of all 
the counties, though it is probable that such a law might 
be passed upon the assumeel basis of the existing districts 
for militia companies. Upon this branch of the subject, 
The plan proposed it is therefore respectfully suljmitted. 

1. That the whole State shall bo laid off by law. into 
convenient school districts. 

2. That the Justices of the Peace fe>r each county in the 
State, shall, annually, anel at the same Court when th.o 

ftonersfo?each Sheriff is elected, and immediately before his election, 
thecounty "courts.^ choose l)y ballot, a majority of the Justices being present 
on the bench, not less than twelve, nor more than fourteen 
persons, who are either Magistrates or freeholders of the 
county residing therein, who, when elected, shall consti- 
tute the school commissioners for that countv. 



Educatiox Report of 1825. 269 

3. x^o Lallot shall be counted, unless it have written on 
it a nnniber of names equal to the number of persons to 
be chosen at that balloting, nor shall any one be deemed 
elected, unless he receive a majority of all the votes given 
in at the balloting. 

4. The person first chosen at the election of any of the chairman of the 

^ "^ commissioners. 

said school commissioners, or if there be more than one 
chosen at the balloting, wlun a choice shall be made, the 
person having the highest number of votes shall be deemed 
chairman of the Board ; and for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing this Avith precision, tlie Clerks of the County Courts 
shall enter on their minutes, the result of each balloting. 
But \vhen the commissioners are chosen, they may, at any 
meeting, elect any other individual their chairman, which 
choice they shall certify, under their hands to the next 
County Court, that the Clerk of which may enter the same 
of record. 

5. That the said scliool commissioners, shall in conve Three committee- 

... . Ill ^"^'^ for each dis- 

nient time alter their election, appoint not less than three t riot appointed by 

_ ... county school com- 

freeholders. nor more than five, in every school district in missioners. 
their respective counties, as a school district committee, 
whose duty it shall be to examine instructors, displace such 
as are incompetent, visit the school at such times and as 
often as they think necessary, and require of the master 
such exercises as may show their progress in learning. Duties of commit- 
They may also expel scholars in case of misbehaviour ; and ^^^^^- 
no schoolmaster displaced by them, or scholar expelled, 
shall be received at any other school established by this 
law. But the schoolmaster or scholar, may appeal from 
the sentence of the district committee to the school com- 
missioners of the county whose decision on the case shall 
be final. 

6. It shall be the duty of said district committee, as 
soon as possible after their appointment, to convene, after 

ten days notice, at two public places in their respective toseie^et^sdlooi^' 
counties, the freeholders (or free white persons) residing ''^*^* 



270 



Education Report of 1825. 



Commissioners to 
build srhiiolliouse 
and ina^^tcr's house 
in eavh district 



Land may be 
condemned. 



Teacher to be 
selected by the 
people of tlic dis- 
trict. 



Course of study. 



Vacancy in office 
of schoolmaster ; 
how filled. 



in such districts, for the purpose of selecting a convenient 
scite for the district school, and when the selection is 
made, the district committee shall certify the same to the 
chairman of the school commissioners. 

7. When it shall he so certified to the school commis- 
sioners, thej shall as soon as may be, purchase of the pro- 
prietor of the land, the number of acres prescribed by law, 
and thereon cause to be erected the necessary buildings 
for a school-house, and the master's residence, and ever 
thereafter keep the same in due repair ; and if the commis- 
sioners and the owner of the land can not agree as to the 
purchase, then the commissioners may have the same con- 
demned for the uses aforesaid, under the same rules and 
regTilations as lands may now be condemned by law, for the 
purposes of Internal Improvement. 

8. That the school masters to be appointed under th' 
act shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the free- 
holders (or free white persons) residing within the dis- 
trict; but no one shall be considered duly elected, unless 
he have previously produced to the district committee, who 
are to preside at the election, a certificate from the chair- 
man of the school commissioners, or from a majority of 
the board, stating that he is duly qualified to teach read- 
ing, English, and the common rules of arithmetic, viz: ad- 
dition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and the rule 
of three or proportion ; and the person producing such cer- 
tificate who has the greatest number of votes shall bo 
deemed duly elected. 

9. Whenever a vacancy occurs, from any cause in the 
appointment of schoolmaster, it shall be the duty of the 
district committee to certify the same forthwith, to the 
chairman of the school commissioners, who shall, there- 
upon, direct the district committee to convene the electors 
of the district in the manner above required, for the pur- 
pose of appointing a successor ; and the result of sucli 
election shall be immediatelv certified bv the district com- 



Education Report of 1825. 271 

mittee to the school commissioners. At the end of every 
six months, the district committee shall give the school- 
master, at his request, a certificate, stating how long during 
the last six months, he has kept open school under this act. 
10. The schoolmasters shall diligently instruct tlui 
scholars, during the hours prescribed by law, in the severa] 
branches of learning above mentioned; for which they 
shall be respectively entitled to demand and receive from 
each scholar per session; and if the parent Salary of the 

T , Tiii j» 11 in schoolmaster. 

guardian or master, liable to pay lor any scnoiar, sliail, on 
demand, neglect or refuse to do so, the same may be recov- 
ered by warrant before any Justice of the Peace. Every 
such schoolmaster shall also be entitled for the time he 
hath kept open school to receive semi-annually at the rate 
of dollars per annum, to be obtained in the fol- 
lowing manner, viz : As soon as he has obtained from the 
district committee, the certificate hereinbefore mentioned, 
stating the time he has kept school within the then last six 
months, and delivered the same to the chairman of the 
school commissioners, it shall be the duty of the said chair- 
man to give him an order on the County Trustee for the 
money appearing due on the said certificate, which order 
being countersigned by the clerk of the said commission- 
ers, and presented to the County Trustee for payment, it 
shall be his duty instantly to pay the same ; and if he shall 
neglect or refuse so to do, the money duo thereon may be Method of coiiect- 
recovered by warrant before any Justice of the Peace ; and ™^ s^i^ry. 
on the trial of such warrant, if six months have elapsed 
between the assessing the tax hereinafter directed to be 
assessed, and the issuing of such warrant, the said Trustee 
shall not be permitted to allege or plead, that he has no 
funds in his hands from which the said money ought to 
be paid; but judgment shall be rendered against him, to 
be paid out of his own proper goods and chattels : and 
such trustee may immediately sue for and recover the 
money from the sheriffs, who ought to have collected the 



272 



Education Report of 1825. 



Money to build 
houses to be bor- 
rowed and tax 
levied to pay the 
debt. 



tax and paid the money over to him, either by warrant 
before any justice of the peace, or by suit against him and 
his securities on their bond. On the judgment obtained 
ujion such warrant against any parent, guardian, county 
trustee or sheriff, no stay of execution shall be allowed. 
And if any such defendant shall pray an appeal from such 
judgment, and shall not prosecute the same, or shall not 
on the trial thereof diminish the original judgment, then 
the appellate court shall render judgment against such de- 
fendant, for the sum originally recovered, with interest at 

the rate of per annum until the same is paid 

M'ith double costs. 

11. And for the purpose of defraying the expense of 
the school establishment hereby proposed, it shall be the 
duty of the justices of each county, a majority being on 
the bench, immediately after electing school commission- 
ers, and before they proceed to the election of sheriff, tc- 
borrow, or authorise to be borrowed, a sum adequate to the 
purchasing of all land and erecting all the buildings neces- 
sary for the said establishments within their county, at 
the same time assessing on the county a tax or taxes, ade- 
quate to paying the interest and .... per cent per annum 
of the principal of the sum so borrowed ; the proceeds of 
which tax or taxes shall be pledged to the creditor or cred- 
itors, and shall not be repealed or altered until the wliole 
debt is paid oif. And for defraying the yearly expenses 
and accounting for the same, it shall be the duty of the 
chairman of the school commissioners to make out, or 
cause the clerk of the said commissioners to make out an 
account of the disbursements for the preceding year, and 
to return the same together with an estimate of the ex- 
penses for the ensuing year to the County Court at its 
session ^vhen the succeeding school commissioners are to be 
elected, and before the same are elected ; and it shall 
be the duty of the justices of the said court, a ma- 
jority being on the bench, immediately after making 
said election, and before they proceed to the elec- 



Edl'Oatiok Report of 1825. 273 

tiou of sheriffs, to assess on their county a tax or taxes, Tax to be levied to 

. ^ pay annual ex- 

the proceeds of Avhich shall be estimated to be at least equal pensesof the 

^ "^ schools. 

to meet all the expenses as aforesaid ; which tax or taxes 
it shall be the duty of the sheriff's of the county to collect, 
under the same rules and regulations that he collects other 
taxes, and pay over the proceeds of the same to the county 
trustee, taking duplicate receipts therefor, and return his 
account v/itli one of the said receipts to the chairman of 
the county school commissioners, within six months after 
the said tax or taxes are assessed as aforesaid, under the 
penalty of dollars. And the sheriff', before en- 
tering into office, shall give bond with two or more good 
securities, in double the sum estimated as aforesaid, pay- 
able to the chairman of the county court, and conditioned 
for his due performance of the duties aforesaid. And it Method of coiiect- 

'- ing whool taxes. 

shall be the duty of the county trustee to pay every order 
drawn on him Hy the chairman of county school commis- 
sioners, as soon as the same shall be presented, to return 
his account to the said chairman, and pay over to him the 
balance of money in his hands, if any, at least fourteen 
days before the sitting of the court at which said chairman 
is to make his return as aforesaid, under the penalty of 
dollars. And the said county trustee, before en- Bond for school 

"^ moneys. 

tering into office, shall give bond with two or more good 
securities, in double the sum estimated as aforesaid, pay- 
able to the chairman of the county court, and conditioned 
for the due performance of the duties aforesaid. 

12. And if the justices of any County Court shall pTo- 
ceed to the election of Sheriff without assessing the taxes 
aforesaid, then all those who are on the bench when such 

-I .' c c^^ ■ n- • t i n i t ti i . Penalty for failure 

election of feneriff is made, shall be liable to the sum esti- to levy school 

taxes. 

mated as aforesaid out of their own property ; and it shall 
be the duty of the State's Attorney for the said county to 
commence suit against said justices, returnable to the then 
next Superior Court for any adjacent county, and said 
suit shall be triable and tried at the return term, before 
18 



274 



Education Eeport of 1825. 



Chairman of 
county school 
commissioners to 
supervise schools. 
Powers limited. 



Recorcis of acts of 
chairman to be 
kept. 



the said court proceeds to any other business on the docket. 
And no evidence shall be admitted on the trial of such 
suit, except the records of the said County Court, or a 
copy thereof, showing that the defendants were on the 
bench of said court and did elect a sheriff without assessing 
the tax or taxes aforesaid, and if ju<lgnient shall pass 
against the defendant, the same shall be final to all intents 
and purj)o«es, without being questioned or cpiestionable in 
any other court whatever. And it shall be the duty of the 
Clerk of the Superior Court, immediately after the termi- 
nation of that term, to issue and deliver, or cause to be 
delivered, to the sheriff of the .county where the defendants 
reside, an execution on said judgment ; and it shall be the 

duty of such sheriff, within days after the delivery, 

to levy the money due on such execution, and pay it over 
to the chairman of the county school commissioners, under 

the penalty of dollars ; and the said chairman shall 

apply the said money towards defraying the school ex- 
penses of the said current year. 

13. The chairman of the county school commissioners, 
may at any time visit any district school within his county; 
and make any order, rule or regulation, for the government 
thereof, and every order, rule or regulation so made shall 
be final and conclusive, unless where he dismisses a school- 
master or expels a scholar, in which case such schoolmaster 
or scholar, or any one in their l)ehalf, may take an 
ap])eal to the county school commissioners, whose decision 
shall be final. And the said chairman shall report every 
order, rule or regulation made by him as aforesaid to the 
clerk of the county school commissioners, and have it en- 
tered on their minutes. And if it shall be deemed neces- 
sary, on any such visitation, or at a meeting of any county 
school commissioners, to examine any witness on oath con- 
cerning any matter then and there under consideration, 
such chairman shall administer such oath, and if such 
witness knowingly and wilfully answers falsely to a ma- 



Educatiox Report of 1825. 275 

terial question, he or she shall be guilty of perjury, and 
liable to all the penalties thereof. 

14. Every county court may, either at the beginning 

or end of the year, a majority of the justices being on the Pay of chairman, 
bench, make some reasonable allowance to its chairman of 
county school commissioners. 

15. The clerk of the county conrt shall act as clerk and eo^irt ^ bTcJe^k of 
keep the accounts of the county school commissioners for gfoners!'"™™^**" 
his county ; and every sheriff shall promptly serve all no- 
tices, by the chairman of the school commissioners deliv- 
ered to him to be served, but no such clerk or sheriff' shall 

be entitled to any specific compensation for such services — 
but they shall be considered as part of the extra services 
for which county courts usually make allowances." 

CONCLUSION. 

The foregoinp' details as to the assessment and collection 
of a tax for the purpose of defraying the expense of the 
institution, have been entered into by the undersigned, 
under a belief, that if the Legislature should adopt that 
mode of raising a fund, it is of the utmost consequence to 
the success of the system, that the performance of the du- perfr.rmance of 
ties assigned to the justices, should be enforced by every perin.f pru ate 

, , . " . -■ c 1 1 • • responsibility. 

reasonable sanction, since the neglect of those duties in 
any one county, would at once paralize every movement*, 
and enjoining the performance of a public duty at the 
peril of private responsibility, is but following the spirit 
of laws already in the statute book. The nature of the 
remedy assigned to the schoolmasters, arose from the pre- 
sumption that they would for the most part be dependent 
upon their salaries, solely, for the actual means of subsis- 
tence, and that any delay in the payment of them might 
prove ruinous. 

If however the wisdom of the Legislature should adopt other measures 

, T /• 1 r- • .1 1 may be taken if 

other ways and means lor defraying the expenses, such taxation plan is 

' *"' not adopted. 

as creating a permanent fund, payable out of the treasury, 
or setting apart for the same purpose, the Bank Stock be- 



276 EDuoATiOiSr Report of 1825. 

longing to the Public, and its shares in the several naviga- 
tion companies, some of which, it is understood, are about 
to become productive, then punctuality would be insured, 
and the above suggestions superseded. Which is respect- 
fully submitted''. 

John Louis Taylor^ 
P. Browne^ 
Jos. Oaldwell, 
Dun. Cameron. 
N'ov. 23, 1825. 

Report ordered jj^ House of Commous 13th Dcc. 1825. Read and or- 

printea by House. 

dered to be sent to the Senate with a proi^osition that the 
same with the accompanying Report be printed 4 copies 
for each member. 

In kSenate Dec. 14 1825. Referred to the Com. on 
Education. 

— From UninihUshed Legislative Documents, 1825-26. 



House action Doc. 14, 1825. — Received from the House of Commons, 

approved by _ 

*^t!°ate. .^ message from his Excellency the Governor, enclosing a 

report from the committee appointed by the last Legisla- 
ture to prepare a plan or system of Public Education, ac- 
companied with a proposition from that House that the 
same be printed, four copies for each member ; which 
proposition was agreed to. 

— Senate Journal, 1825, p. Jj-1. 



'This report is in the handwriting of Judge Taylor. 



10. ATTEMPT TO EAISE SCHOOL FUND BY LOTTERY. 

In Senate Dec. 15th, 1825. Read the first time and ;;[fj';>;y^entTieson 
passed and motion of Mr. Sneed referred to the Com. on 
Education. 

In Senate Dec. 22d, 1825. Reported without amend- 
ment and the Bill made the order of the day for tomor- 
row^. 

In Senate Dec. 23d, 1825. Read the second time and 
passed. 

In Senate Dec. 24th, 1825. Committed on motion of 
Mr. Speight of Greene to a Com. of the whole house, to 
whom was referred the Bill for the promotion of Educa- 
tion and made the order of the day for Monday next". 

In Senate Dec. 26th, 1825, reported by the Com. and 
on motion of Mr. Sneed was ordered to be laid on the 
Table. 

In Senate Dec. 30th 1825. On motion of Mr. Hill of 
Franklin, the Bill was indefinitely postponed. (See Sen- 
ate Journal 1825-20, p. 80.) 

A BILL TO AID m THE ESTABLISHMENT OE A 
FUND FOR THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS FOR 
THE CONVENIENT INSTRUCTION OF YOUTH, 
ETC. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
North Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That the Governor of this State shall be em- (jovernorempoAv- 

CI T ered to contract 

powered and is hereby directed to contract lor the vendino; for vending a 

^ " , . , ^ lottery. 

of Lottery schemes and Tickets therein, and drawing the 
same on the sole responsibility of the contractors without 
liability for the management of said Lotteries, or payment 
of the prizes on the part of the State ; and that such con- 

' The report was made by Charles A. Hill, of Franklin, on Dec. 22, 
1825. See Senate Journal, 1825-26, p. 57. 
^ See Senate Journal, 1825-26, p. 65. Jesse Speig'ht, Greene county. 

277 



278 School Fund by Lottery. 

tracts maj be made for a specitic sum for such scheme oi 
a given amount as the Governor for the time being shall 
deem prudent. 

And be, it further enacted, That the amount of money, 

which shall from time to time be so raised, and agreed to 

be paid by such contract shall be paid over by the contract 

or or contractors to the Treasurer of this State ; by whom 

Profits to go to the the Same shall be invested in some safe and productive 

common school , ., ., , ,-, it,- 

fund. manner, and to constitute witli such other additions as 

may be made by future legislative provision a permanenf 
fund for the purpose of diffusing the benefits of a common 
school education to be called "The common school fnnd of 
North Carolina." 

And whereas many Lottery grants for the purpose of 
aiding sundry academies in this State have been at differ- 
ent times, made by the Legislature, most of which are 
without limitation of time and are therefore vested in the 
grantees ; therefore. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State 
aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the 

Arrangements Same, That the Govcmor be authorized to make arrange- 

with academies •iiitt ci ii i 

authorized to raise mciits With the hoKlers 01 sucli grants who may make ap- 

money by lottery. . , , . ^ . ^ . "^ „ , . 

lilication within two years after the ratification of this act. 
by which they shall be entitled to receive such proportion 
of the whole amount of money raised by said lotteries 
(after deducting one-fourth part to be paid into the Treas- 
ury, in pursuance of this act) in the rate of the amount 
of each grant, except such as are already under contract 
which are first to be completed. 

And be it further enacted that in makino- contracts 
under this act, privilege may be given to the contractors to 
combine the Lotteries of this State with those of any other 
State or States^ 



^This bill was introduced in the Senate, Thursday, Dec. 15, 1825, by 
William M. Sneed, of Granville. See Senate Journal, 1825-26, p. 43. 



11. THE LITERARY FUND LAW. 

Thursday, Deceinbor 22, 1825. — Mr. Hiir, of Franklin, introduction of 

school fund bill in 

from the Connnittee on Education, reported a l)ill to ere- scnati'. 
ate a fund for the establishment of Common Schools, and 
for the support thereof ; v/hich was read the first time, and, 
on motion of ]\Ir. Seawell', ordered that the bill be printed ; 
and it was further ordered, on motion of Mr. Boykin^. 
that the same be committed to a committee of the Whole 
House, and made the order of the day for Monday next. 

— Senate Jourval, 1825-26, pp. 58-59. 

Monday, Dec. 26, 1825. — The Senate resolved itself in Biii considered in 

• ,.1 1 T XT T r TT 1 i. • 1 connnittee of the 

to a committee oi the whole House, Mr. r^ickett m the whole, 
chair, to take into consideration the bill to create a fund 
for the establisliment and support of schools for the con- 
venient instruction of Youth ; and, after some time spent 
therein, the committee rose, the Sj^eaker resumed the 
Chair, and ]\Ir. Pickett, the Chairman, reported the first 
mentioned bill with an amendment; which was agreed to 
by the Senate, and the said bill was read the second time 
and passed. Mr. Pickett, from the committee of the 
Whole House, then reported the bill to aid in the establish- 
ment of a fund for the support of schools for the conveni- 
ent instruction of yoiith, etc., without amendment ; v;hich, 
on motion of Mr. Sneed, was ordered to be laid on the 
table. 

— Senate Journal, 1825-26, p. 67. 

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 1825. — The bill to create a fund f or ^j^jj,,i ,.^..^^ijjj„ ^^ 
the establishment of common schools was read the third '^'^'"^'^■ 
time and ordered to be engrossed. 

— Senate Journal, 1825-26, p. 69. 



' Charles A Hill, Franklin. 

2 lienry St^awell, Wake. 

3 Thomas Boykin, Sampson. 
'' Joseph Pickett, Anson. 

279 



280 



The Literary Fund Law, 



Bill passes House 
without division. 



Senate agrees to 
House amend- 
ment. 



Tuesday, Jan. 3, 1826. — The engrossed bill to create k 
fund for the establishment of common schools was read 
the second and third times, amended, and passed. Or- 
dered that the said bill be sent to the Senate, with a mes- 
sage, asking the concurrence of that House with said 
amendment.^ 

— House JonrnaJ, 1825-26, p. 206. 

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 1826. — Received a message from 
the House of Commons stating that they have passed the 
engrossed bill to create a fund for the establishment of 
common schools, v/ith an amendment, to strike out the last 
section of the bill ; in which they ask the concurrence of 
the Senate. Which amendment was agreed to, and the 
bill was ordered to be enrolled. 

—Senate Joimial, 1825-26, y. 90. 



Fund.s set aside 
for education. 



A^ ACT TO CREATE A FUND FOR THE ESTAB- 
LISHMENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS. 

I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State 
of North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the au- 
thority of the same, that a fund for the support of Com- 
mon and convenient Schools for the instruction of youth. 
in the several Counties of this State, be, and the same are 
hereby appropriated, consisting of the dividends arising 
from the stock now held, and which may hereafter be ac- 
quired by the State in the Banks of Newbern and Ca]>e 
Fear, and which have not heretofore been pledged and set 
apart for internal improvements ; the dividends arising 
from stock which is owned by the State in the Cape Fear 
Navigation Company, the Roanoke Navigation Company, 
and the Clubfoot and Harlow Creek Canal Company ; the 
tax imposed by law on licenses to the retailers of spirituous 



'This bill was passed without division in the House, 
created no division in the Senate. 



The bill 



The Literary Fund Laav. 281 

liquors and auctioneers ; the unexpended balance of the 
Agricultural Fund, wliicli by the Act of the Legislature, 
is directed to be paid into the public Treasury ; all monies 
paid to the State for the tntries of vacant lands, (except 
the Cherokee lands;) the sum of twenty -one thousand and 
ninety dollars, which was paid by this State to certain 
Cherokee Indians, for reservations to lands secured by 
them by treaty, when the said sums shall be received from 
the United States by this State ; and of all the vacant and 
unappropriated swamp lands in this State, together with 
such sums of money as the Legislature may hereafter find 
it convenient to appropriate from time to time. 

11. Be it further enacted, That all the sums of money 
which have accrued since the first day of November last, 
or which may hereafter accrue as aforesaid, shall be, and 
the same is hereby vested in the Governor of the State, the 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Speaker of the 
Senate, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the 
Treasurer of the State, for the time being ; and they and 
their successors in office are hereby constituted a body cor- 
porate and politic, under the name of the President and President and 

■"^ _ ^ _ _ directors of the 

Directors of the Literarv Fund, with power to sue and be litenu-y fund 

^ created and given 

sued, plead and be impleaded, and to hold real and per- ^(!h^ooffun!f'^^ 
sonal property,- and to sell, dispose of and improve the 
same, to effect the purposes of promoting learning, and the 
instruction of youth. The Governor shall be President 
of the Board, and any three of the Directors shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business relative to 
the said fund ; and, in the absence of the Governor, they 
shall have authority to appoint a President for the time 
of such absence. They shall cause to be kept by the Treas- 
urer of the State a regular account of all such sums of 
money as may belong to the said fund, the manner in 
which the same has been applied and vested, and they 
shall make an annual report thereof to the Legislature, 
with such recommendations for the improvement of the 
s-'uie. as to them shdl sceui cx]iedient. 



282 



The Literary Fund Law. 



Investment of HI, Be it further enacted, That the President and 

funds in certain 

securities. Directors of the Literary fund hereby created are author- 

ized to vest any part or whole of the said fund, in the 
Stock of any of the Banks of this State, or of the United 
States and at all times to change, alter and dispose of the 
same, and of any real and personal estate belonging to the 
said fund, in such manner and upon such terms, as may in 
their opinion be best calculated to improve the value 
thereof. 

Application of JY. Be it further enacted, that the fund herebv created 

funds to tne 

fntofseverai^''"^^ ^^^^^ ^^ applied to the instruction of such children as it 
tioTtolree ST ^aj hereafter be deemed expedient by the Legislature to 
instruct in the common principles of reading, writing and 
arithmetic ; and whenever, in the opinion of the Legisla- 
ture, the said fund shall have sufficiently accumulated, the 
proceeds thereof shall be divided among the several Coun- 
ties, in proportion to the free white population of each, to 
be managed and applied in such way as the Legislature 
shall hereafter authorize and direct. 



jiopulation. 



-Laws of 1825-26, Chapter I. 



12. MEMORIAL OF ORANGE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION. 

In House of Commons 14:-Dec-1825, read and referred SememoriJi°" 
to Com. on Education/ 

—^House Journal, 1825, p. 11^8. 

To the Honourable, the General Assembly of the State 
of I^orth Carolina, convened in the City of Raleigh — The 
memorial of sundry citizens of the County of Orange, com- 
posing the officers of the Sunday School Union of said 
County and other citizens of the same. 

The undersigned, f eeline- a deep interest in the youth Asks aid for sun- 

<^ ' <^ >■ '^ (Jay Schools of 

of our State, and more especially of the children of the orange county, 
indigent and ignorant, beg leave to present to your honor- 
able body the subject of Sunday Schools, as an object of 
Legislative aid, and particularly to solicit such aid as in 
your wisdom may be deemed best, to support and extend 
the Schools under the care of the Sunday School Union 
of our County. In doing this, they feel it their duty to 
present to your honorable body, a brief view of the origin, 
design, and effect of these benevolent institutions, that 
you may be the better prepared to pass upon the merits of 
their petition. 

Sunday Schools owe their origin to the active benevo- origin of Sunday 

Schools. 

lence of an English Gentleman named Robert Raikes, who 
passing through the streets of one of their populous towns, 
on the Sabbath Day, and beholding many children engaged 
in idle play, whom he found on enquiry unable to read^ 
proposed to have them instructed on the Sabbath gratui- 
tously if they w^ould attend. Such is the origin of these 
benevolent institutions, which experience has shown to 
have the most salutary influence on the youth of all coun- 
tries where thev have been introduced. 



'This memorial was presented by John Scott, of Hillsborough. 



283 



284 Oeats'ge Suxday School Uxion. 

Object of their The desiffii of Svindav Schools is to instruct the younj^ 

establishment. ^ _ '' _ _ . . 

and ignorant children of the indigent, and others indis 
criminately, in reading and spelling, in sonnd morals and 
in the first principles of natural and revealed religion. 
The instructors are persons of tried integrity and experi- 
ence; and the whole course of instruction tends to the* im- 
provement of the moral character of the young. The la- 
bors of the Teachers and officers are entirely gratuitous. 
sundiw*sciiools^ Sunday Schools were in successful operation as early as 
^'^^^- 1822, in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Holland, India, 

Ceylon ; in the South Sea Islands, West Africa, South 
Africa, ISFew Foundland, the West Indies, and our own 
happy country. — In Ireland by the report of the Sunday 
School Society in 1822, there were 1538 schools — 173,384 
learners and 10,370 gratuitous teachers. 
Schools in n-ehmci. Of the cfFects of Sunday Schools in Ireland, a gentle- 
men engaged in their benevolent operations thus testifies: 
'There have been 150,000 children and 7,000 adults in 
the scliools of the Hibernian Society since the commence- 
ment, and I have never heard of one scholar who has been 
educated by us, being arraigned for any crime." 
In Great Britain. In Great Britain, in 1822, there were 5,637 schools. 
50,375 teachers, and 056,542 learners. Since that period 
the number has greatly increased, and the effects are daih 
becoming more sensibly beneficial. 

In our own Country these institutions have an existence 
in almost every State in the ITnion, and have been invari- 
ably attended with marked advantage to the young. The 
Sunday Schools in Sunday School Societv of Orange County has under its 
have^taught many care 22 Schools iu whicli are instructed from 800 to 1,000 

children to read. 

children, many of whom, — the children of the poor, who 
would otherwise have been brought up in utter ignorance 
and vice, have been taught to road and trained to habits 
of moral reflection and conduct. The schools have been 
heretofore supplied with books for the most part by the 
charitv of the public, and it is to furnish the necessarv 



Orange Sunday School Union, 285 

books, that yoiu- memorialists ijray for such aid, as that Funds asked to 

^ 'J . . biiy books. 

the sum of 25 cts. per annum may be paid for every Sun- 
day School learner under their care, out of the jiublic 
taxes, in such manner and to such person for their use, as 
in your wisdom }ou may deem best. And your memo- 
rialists would further pray a similar provision for all the 
Sunday Schools formed, or which may be formed within 
the limits of our County and throughout our State. 

J. Webb^ President. 

William Kirkland, 1st Vice-President. 

Wm. ISToRwooD^ 2nd Vice-President. 

F. ISTash^ 3rd Vice-President. 

John Kirkland, Treasurer. 

J. W. Norwood^ Recording Secretary. 

J. WiTHERSPOON;, Corresponding Secretary. 

Dennis Heartt^ \ 

Wm. Huntington^ / 

J. G. Bacon^ V Managers. 

Elam Alexander^ v 

Wm. Bingham^ j 

The memorial is also signed by 28 other citizens of 
Orange County. 

— Vn-puhVished Legislative Documents, 1825. 

The Committee to whom was referred the memorial of Report of commit- 

T . . r> 1 /-( c /-\ . , tee on memorial. 

sundry citizens of the County oi Orange, composing the 
officers of the Sunday School Union of said County, and 
other citizens of the same under their consideration report : 
That it is inexpedient to grant the prayer of the peti- 
tioners and therefore recommend its rejection. 

]Sr. J. Drake, Chm. 

In the House of Commons 22-Dec-1825, read and con- clerk's entry on 

J •,! report. 

curred with. 

— House Journal, 1825, p. 170. 



Desirability of 
publication of the 
history. 



$15,000 authorized 
to be raised by 
lottery. 



Access to records 
by author. 



Three drawings 
only. 



13. LOTTERY FOR PIBLICATIOX OF JfORTH CAROLINA 
HISTORY. 

An Act to encourage the publication of a Historical and 
Scientific Work on this State. 

Whereas, It is represented to this General Assembly by 
Archibald 1). Murphey, of the county of Orange, that he 
hath been for several years engaged in collecting and ar- 
rangeing materials for an extensive and historical and sci- 
entific work on this State, and that the completion of said 
work requires the aid of the General Assembly ; and where- 
as the publication of such a work is much desired, and 
would be useful and creditable to the State ; 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
North Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That the said Archibald D. lliirphey be, and 
is hereby authorised to raise by way of Lottery from time 
to time, tlie sum of fifteen thousand dollar.^, for the prose- 
cution and completion of said work. 

II. And be it further enacted, That the said Arcliibald 
D. Murphey have liberty to examine the ])ublic records in 
the Executive office, and in the Offices of the Secretary of 
State and Comptroller, and also the files of the Senate, and 
of the Plouse of Commons of the General Assembly, and to 
make therefrom such extracts as he may think proper. 

III. And be it further enacted by the authority afore- 
said. That it shall not be lawful under any pretence what- 
ever, to have more than three classes of drawings of the 
said Lottery, for the purpose of raising- <"he sum required 
by this act. 

Read three times and ratified in General Assembly, -Ith 
of January, 1826. 

John Stanjey, S. H. C. 
B. Yancey, S'. S. 

—Laws 1825-26, Chap. XXXV. 



286 



14. ATTEMPTED LEGISLATION. 

To P]{EVEXT Educatiox OF Slaves. — Hoiise Jcurnal, 
Tuesday, Deceiuher ^7, 18:25: ]\Ir. Stediuan (Win. W. 
Stedman, of Gates) presented a bill to prevent persons 
from educating' slaves. The said bill was read the first 
time, and, on motion, rejected. 

— House JoHDiid. 1825, p. 183. 

To Ia'cokpoi.'ai'e Tkustees of Oxford I'resbyteeia:x 
CiiuKcir. — House Journal, Friday, Dec. 23, 182.5: Mr. 
(John) Glasgow (Granville) presented a bill to incorpo- 
rate the trustees of the Presbyterian Church in Oxford. 
The said bill was read the first time and rejected.^ 

— House Jourunl. 1825, p. 17^. 



' This and similar bills were rejected on constitutional grounds. It 
was claimed the passage of such bills would be a union of Church and 
State. 



287 



15. LOTTERIES FOB ACADEmES REFUSED.^ 

A Bill for the relief of the Trustees of the Williams 
borough Academy. 

510,000 authorized. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
]^orth Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That the Trystees of the Willi am sborough 
Academy be and they are hereby authorized to raise h'^i 
one or more lotteries the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars. 

Entries on bill. In Senate Dec. 22, 1825: Read the first time and 

passed. 

In Senate Dec. 23, 1825: Bead the 2nd time and or- 
dered that the Bill do not pass. 

A Bill to change the corporate name of the ''Trustees of 
the Richmond Academy," and to authorize said trustees 
to raise ten thousand dollars by way of Lottery. 

Name changed. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 

IS'orth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same. That the corporate name of "The Trustees of 
the Richmond Academy" be so altered that said Trustees 
be hereafter styled "Trustees of the Richmond Euphra- 
dian Academy." 

sio,ooo authorized. And be it further enacted. That said Trustees may, by 
one or more lotteries, raise a sum not exceeding ten thou- 
sand dollars, for the benefit of this Institution. 

Entries on bill. In Senate Dec. 17, 1825: Read the first time and 

passed. 

In Senate Dec. 19, 1825: Read and ordered to lie on 
the table. 

In Senate Dec. 23, 1825: Read the second time and 
ordered that the same do not pass. 



'The refusal to pass these hills was justified by Charles A. Hill and 
others on moral grounds. The debate on the subject of lotteries is 
omitted here, as it is given at another place. 

288 



Lotteries for Academies Refused. 289 

THE PETITION OF THE ERANKLIX LIBRARY 

SOCIETY: 
To the Honorable the General Assembly of the State of 

North Carolina: 

The Franklin Library Society established in the Town 
of Hillsborough on the seventh (7) day of February, Anno 
Domino, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, and 
incorporated by the General Assembly on the 25th of De- 
cember following, for the promotion of learning and culti- History and pur- 
vation of virtue, has since its organization been productive 
of much usefulness, and, patronized in a small degree by 
many of the friends of Literature ; but the funds of the 
institution prove insufficient to enable it to be productive 
to that extent of usefulness which it otherwise might be. 
Thankful as we are for the patronage we have already 
received from the General Assembly, and believing as we 
do, that your Honorable Body are even willing to patronize 
institutions having for their end, objects so laudable in 
their nature, in endeavouring to inculcate in the human 
mind, those principles which are requisite, and necessary 
to be possessed by the citizens of a free Government, — 
pray that they may be allowed to raise, by lottery, a sum 
not exceeding three thousand dollars, under the direction ^^^.g^ ^^ ^.^^^^ 
of such managers as they may appoint ; which sum shall ^^•'^*^- 
be appropriated in the purchase of useful books, to add to 
the Library of the Institution and for other necessary 
purposes. 

SigTied by order of the Society, by the officers thereof 
on the 14th day December, Anno Domino one thousand 
eight hundred and twenty-five. 

ISTathaniel Jones Palmer, Pres. 
Richard S. Clinton, Yice-Pres. 
Jos. Wood, Secretary. 

Otticcrs 

Charles L. Cooley, Treasurer. 
Thos. C. Palmer, Librarian. 
Robert Wynne, Attorney. 

In House of Commons Dec. 23, 1825; Read and in- Rejected, 
definitely postponed. 
19 



18^0 

1. COMMENT ON SCHOOL LAW OF 1825, 

2. MANUMISSION, BY RALEIGH REGISTER. 

3. GOV. BURTON'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

4. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

5. PROPOSED LOTTERY FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

6. LOTTERY FOR INCREASE LITERARY FUND AND PUBLICA- 

TION OF NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY. 

7. POTTER'S POLITICAL COLLEGE BILL. 

8. POTTER'S SPEECH ON HIS POLITICAL COLLEGE BILL. 

9. DISCUSSION OF THE MORALITY OF LOTTERIES. 

10. FAILURE OF BILL TO ENCOURAGE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

11. FAILURE OF ATTEMPT TO INCREASE LITERARY FUND. 

12. FAILURE STATISTICAL INFORMATION BILL. 

13. FAILURE OF BILL TO PROHIBIT TEACHING COLORED AP- 

PRENTICES. 

14. ORGANIZATION OF LITERARY BOARD. 

15. FIRST REPORT OF LITERARY BOARD TO LEGISLATURE 

1826-27. 

16. LOTTERIES FOR ACADEMIES REFUSED. 



290 



1. COMMENT ON SCHOOL LAW OF 1825. 

Our Legislature adjourned on Wednesday last, after a 
session of 45 days, in which were passed 3G acts of a gen- 
eral nature, and 115 for local objects. 

Perhaps the most important act of the session is that School bin tiie 

^ ^ most important 

])roviding a fund for the establishing Common Schools Jf^|™on of the 

throughout the State, in compliance with the injunction of 

our Constitution, which provides, "that a School or Schools 

shall be established by the Legislature, for the convenient 

instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, 

jtaid by the public, as may enable them to instruct at low 

prices." And thoueh the funds at present provided mav Fund not large 

. ..." enough. 

not be sufficient completely to accomplish this object, 
they will enable a future Legislature to commence the 
operations of the plan. Owing to the thinness of our 
population, in some parts of the State, a School cannot 
be conveniently carried to every man's door, yet. Schools 
may be formed in every neighborhood where the po})ula- 
tion is sufficient to make one desirable, and by this means 
the benefits of a common English education will be 
spread, by degrees, throughout the community, the re- 
quirements of our constitution at length complied with, 
and the surest means will have been provided for the se- 
curity of a continuance of the blessings of our free and ex- 
cellent Republican Government. 

The fund appropriated to the above object, is to be Control of the 
under the control of the Governor, the Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court, the Speakers of the Senate and House 
of Commons, and the Treasurer ; and they are to be a cor- 
porate body, and to be styled "The President and Direc- 
tors of the Literary Fund." 

This act is of such an interesting nature, that we shrill 
procure a copy for publication in our next paper. 

— Raleigh Register, Jan. 6, 1826. 

291 



2. MANUMISSION, BY RALEIGH EEGISTEIl. 



Friends resolve 
to free slaves. 



Number set free ; 
where sent. 



Those sent to 
Hayti embark at 
Beaufort. 



Those sent to 
other places. 



Manumission. — At the annual meeting of the Society 
of Friendn in this State, held last Fall, that respectable 
body came to the resolution of manumitting and removing 
all the coloured people held by them, that were willing to 
leave the country ; and since that time they have been 
concerting measures for carrying their intentions into 
effect, and in consulting the wishes of the coloured peo- 
ple themselves in relation to their future destination, 
which has resulted in the following arrangement: 120 of 
the number are desirous of going to Hayti ; 316 to Liberia ; 
and about 100 w^ish to be sent to the non-slave-holding 
States of Ohio or Indiana — which we believe embrace the 
whole of the population of this description held by this 
Society, except a few who have formed family connections 
which they are unwilling by removal to dissolve, and where 
the husband or wife is held by persons from whom they 
cannot be purchased. 

We obtained this information from our friend Dr. Geo. 
Swaine, of Gruilford county (as he passed through this 
city, a few days ago) who is deputed by his Society to at- 
tend to the embarkation, and to supply the wants of that 
part of this population who have made choice of Hayti 
for their future home. They will sail from our port of 
Beaufort, a few days hence, on board a vessel which has 
been engaged for the purpose, owned by Mr. Henry Cooke, 
of that place, and commanded by Capt. Thompson. 

The 316 of this population who have chosen to go to 
Liberia, and the 100 who wish to be removed to Ohio or 
Indiana, will also be sent there at the expense of the So- 
ciety of Friends ; the former, by one of the first vessels to 
the African Settlement ; and the latter, by means of 
wagons, which will be engaged to convey them and the 
little property of which they may be possessed. 



292 



Manumission, by Ealeigh Eegister. 293 

Besides the above mentioned coloured people, we learn, others deported, 
that this Society have already sent off 64 persons to the 
State of Ohio, 47 by the Indian Chief, which lately sailed 
from Norfolk to Liberia, and 11 by another vessel which 
sailed about the same time to Africa. 

It ouo:ht also to be mentioned to the credit of this Soci- Funds raised. 
ety that it contributed 800 dollars to the funds of the Afri- 
can Colonization Society soon after its establishment. 

—Raleigh Register, Mag 30, 1S26. 



3. GOV. BURTON'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



Virtue anrt intelli- 
gence iieeessary to 
the existence of 
free government 
anrt individual 
happiness. 



The constitution 
enjoins the estab- 
lishment of 
schools. 



For forty-nine 
years no primary 
schools have been 
established. 



Primary education 
harder to obtain 
now than in 177G. 



Believing it universally admitted, that the existence of 
free governments depends upon the virtue and intelligence 
of the great body of the people ; and that these are also the 
sources of individual comfort and happiness, I shall not 
consume your time in repeating arguments so often ad- 
duced, to shew the necessity of diffusing the benefits of 
education among the poorer class of our fellow citizens. 
But, permit me to call your attention to a clause in our 
State Constitution, which enforces the obligation, of giv- 
ing to this subject your serious consideration. It is this: 
^'A school or schools shall be established by the Legislature 
of this State, for the convenient instruction of youth, with 
such salaries to the masters, paid by the public, as may 
enable them to instruct at low prices. All useful learning 
shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or more 
Universities." The latter branch of this constitutional in- 
junction has long since been complied with, by your pre- 
decessors. We have a University in a prosperous condi- 
tion, with competent funds. But, as to the former, and 
a no less important branch, concerning schools, — it is to lie 
lamented that from the formation of the constitution until 
the last session of the General Assembly, (a period of 
forty-nine years) nothing whatever has been done. The 
last Legislature commenced the important work ; but if that 
beginning is not w^ell sustained and pursued, the present 
generation may pass away, before anything effectual is ac- 
complished. Many enlightened persons believe, that it is 
more difficult for an individual in ordinary circumstances 
to obtain for his child at this time, the common rudiments 
of education, than it was at the period when our Constitu- 
tion was adopted. This increased difficulty originates, in 
part, from the increased demand which the exigencies of 
government have made upon the resources of individuals 
and the enhancement of the necessaries of subsistence. 



294 



Gov. Burton's Message on Education. 295 

It api>ears, therefore, peculiarly just and pr(3per, that the 
State should contribute somewhat to the diminution of 
that burden, which, in part, it has created. And while it 
exacts and expects obedience from the citizens to its laws 
and institutions, it should give them the opportunity to 
appreciate their ])rivileges and im])rove their condition, 
llie least reflection will satisfy us, that reading', writing, The morality of the 

T 1 , n • \ • T • 1 1 ^ • \ masses largely 

and the common rules oi arithmetic are highly essential aided by the pri- 

_ _ mary school 

to the healthy action of our government, founded, as it is, studies, 
upon the supremacy, and executed by the agency of the 
people : and they unquestionably contribute more largel}' 
to the individual benelit and morality of the body of peo- 
ple, than the branches of severe science usually taught in 
our established seminaries. Whilst upon this subject, I 
beg leave to remark, that the Constitution itself in the sec- 
tion before recited, has not only imposed the obligation, 
but has also suggested an important means for the execu- 
tion of the injunction. 

— House JounwJ, 182(1. p. llJf. 



Senate committee 
on education. 



House committee 
on education. 



4. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

Senate Committee on Education : — James J. McKay, 
Bladen; William M. Sneed, Granville; Charles A. Hill. 
Franklin; Francis T. Leak, Richmond; John Joyner, Pitt. 

— 8enate Journal, 1826-27, p. 9. 

House Committee on Education : — James R, Love, Hay- 
wood ; J ames Blevins, Ashe ; John Scott, Hillsborough ; 
John E. Lewis, Casv/ell ; Robert Potter, Halifax (town) ; 
A. A. AVyche, Halifax ; James Iredell, Edenton ; Joseph 
D. White, Bertie ; Enoch Foy, Jones ; Marshall Dickerson. 
Pitt ; John T. Gilmour, Bladen ; Alfred Moore, Bruns- 
wick ; John M. Morehead, Guilford; A, H. Shepperd, 
Stokes ; Archibald McNair, Richmond ; Shadrack Howell, 
Robeson. 

— House Journal, 1826-27, p. 121. 



296 



5. PROPOSED LOTTERY FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

Resolved, That the Committee on Education be instruct- proijosed lottery 

, . . , -, . f, . . , , 1 f'' raise school 

ed to enquire into the expediency oi raising by lottery the funds. 
sum of six hundred and thirty thousand dollars, to be dis- 
tributed by alloting ten thousand dollars, to each county in 
this State, for the purpose of establishing public schools^. 
Which resolution was agreed to. 

—Senate Journal, 1826-27, p. 21. 



^Introduced by Henry Seawell, of Wake. 



297 



Directors of liter- 
ary fund to raise 
850,000 bv lottery; 
825,000 to aid pub- 
lication of North 
Carolina history. 



$25,000 to be 
devoted to literary 
fund. 



Murphey to relin- 
quish priyilege of 
former act. 



6. LOTTERY FOR INCREASE LITERARY FUND AND PIBLI- 
CATION OF NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY. 

An act to authorise the President and Directors of the 
Literary Fund to raise money by way of lottery, and lot 
other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
jSTorth Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That the President and Directors of the Lit- 
erary Fund be, and they are hereby authorized to raise, by 
way of lottery fifty thousand dollars ; of which a sum not 
exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars shall be applied b} 
them toward aiding Archibald I). Murphev, of Orange 
County, in collecting material for, and publishing the his- 
tory of North Carolina : But before the said money shall 
be advanced to him, he shall enter into bond to the Gov- 
ernor, and his successors in office, in the sum of twenty 
thousand dollars, conditioned that if he shall die before 
the publication of the aforesaid, his executors or adminis- 
trators shall, within one year after his decease, file in the 
Secretary's office, for the use of the State, all papers, docu 
ments, records, pamphlets, and other materials, which he 
hath collected, or shall collect for said history, including 
his manuscript of said history. 

II. Be it further enacted. That the residue of the- 
money authorised to be raised by this act, shall constitute 
and form a part of the Literary Fund ; and the President 
and Directors of said Fund are authorised to sell, upon 
such terms as they, or a majority of them, may deem expe- 
dient, to one or more persons, the privilege of raising, by 
lottery, the money aforesaid. 

III. Be it further enacted. That no part of the said 
twenty five thousand dollars shall l)e ]>aid to said Archi- 
bald D. Murphey, until he shall relinquish all right or 
claim to the privileges granted to him by an act, passed at 
the last session of the General Assembly, entitled ''An act 
to (ueourage the publication of a historical and scientifical 

298 



Lottery to Increase Literary Fund. 299 

work on this State;" And that said twenty five thousand 
dollars, or so much thereof as the President and Directors 
of the Literary Fund may, in their discretion, think he 
will be entitled to, shall be advanced only as the work pro- 
gresses/ 

— Laws 1826-27, chap. XVI. 



^Introduced in the House of Commons, January 17, 1827, by John 
Scott, of Hillsborough. See House Journal, 1826-27, p. 167. 



7. POTTER'S POLITICAL COLLEGE BILL.i 

Clerk's entry oil 111 H. Commons 22d. Jan. 1827. Read the first time 

and passed and ordered to be jDrinted and referred to Com. 
on Education. 

— See House Journal, 1826-27, p. 176. 

A BILL TO ESTABLISH A POLITICAL COLLEGE 
FOR THE STATE OF I^ORTH CAROLINA. 

The rector and vis- I- Be it enacted bj tlic General Assembly of the State 
eai college of of North Carolina, That a Riector and fifteen Visitors to 

North Carolina. itii-cit i -i • 

be chosen as shall hereinafter be directed, be incorporated 
under the name and title of "The Rector and Visitors of 
the Political College of North Carolina." 

Rector and visitors H- That in that Style and capacity they shall have the 

mar e a corpora- power to siic and be sucd ; plead and be impleaded ; have 
and use a common seal, acquire, hold, and transfer prop- 
erty of every description whatever ; and do all other mat- 
ters and things v^hich may be necessary and proper to the 
ends of their creation and which appertain generally to 
corporate bodies. 

Visitors chosen by HI- That the visitors sliall be chosen by a joint ballot 
of both houses of the legislature, and hold their appoint- 
ments during the pleasure of a majority of the members 
of the same, subject to removal by them at any time with- 
out notice and without impeachment. 

Speakers of assem- IV. That when SO elected it shall be the duty of the 

bly to notify per- "^ 

sons chosen. speakers of the two houses of the General Assembly, to 

make out and transmit to them joint official letters of ap- 
pointment, whereupon it shall be the duty of the perilous 
so appointed to assemble at such time and place, as shall 
be deemed most expedient by the Governor, they being 
duly apprised by him of his designation of the same. 

^Robert Potter, Halifax borough. 

300 



Potter's Political College Bill. 301 

V. That when thus assembled they shall proceed to visitors to organize 

„,..,. I . . J, , . institution. 

organize a system of discipline and instruction lor the in- 
stitution over which they are to preside ; and they are 
hereby invested with full power of Legislation, in all mat- 
ters relating to the same comformably to the provisions o:' 
this charter. 

VI. They shall, at their first meeting, proceed to elect visitors to choose a 

rector. 

a Rector, the term and tenure of whose office, shall be the 
same with that of the visitors, but whenever a vacancy 
shall occur in the office of Rector, by resignation, death, 
or otherwise, it shall be filled by the Visitors, a majority 
of the votes of whom shall at all times be necessary to 
the appointment of a Rector and whenever a vacancy shall 
occur in the aj}pointinent of a Visitor during the recess of 
the Legislature, it shall be filled by a temporary commis- 
sion from the Governor, to expire at the close of the next 
preceding session of the General Assembly. 

VII. That the Rector and Visitors when thus consti- Ruips ,^,^(j regnia- 
tuted shall after their first meeting under this charter, 

set upon their own adjournments, and regulate the mode 
of their proceedings, and that four Visitors and the Rector, 
or seven Visitors alone, shall constitute a quorum to trans- 
act business ; that in the deliberations of the Rector and 
Visitors, all questions shall be decided by the votes of a 
majority of the visitors, unless where the vote of the Rector 
if given to the minority would make the division equal, and 
then the question shall be lost ; that the Rector shall pre- 
side over the deliberations and proceedings of the visitors, 
and whenever an extraordinary meeting of the Visitors is 
deemed necessary, shall have power to summon them to- 
gether. 

VIII. That the Rector and Visitors are hereby re- sehooi in waiie : 
quired to purchase in due season, a tract of land in the ment to*^cost"^' 

A CTTT 1 1-1 1 • 1 1 r. f • 520,000 : farm for 

County 01 Wake, which together with the fixtures, lurni- support of college, 
ture, stock necessary for the purposes of the institution, 
shall cost and be worth, when the arrangements are com- 
pleted, twenty thousand dollars ; that on this land a farm 



302 



Potter's Political Collegp: Bill. 



Officers of the 
college. 



Four professors 
and their titles. 



shall be established for the instruction and support of the 
members of the College, and provided with suitable build- 
ings for their accommodation ; that the apartments intend 
ed for the officers and apprentices of the College shall be 
constructed at the discretion of the Rector and visitors , 
a strict and rigid regard being had to 2)lainness and 
economy. 

IX. But the officers of the college shall consist of a 
President and four Professors, to be chosen bv a majority 
of the Visitors and hold their appointments during the 
pleasure of the same ; and whenever the President or 
either of the Professors shall from any cause whatever 
vacate their appointments, a successor shall be designated 
by a majority of the Visitors. 

X. That the Professors shall be a Professor of Agri- 
culture ; a Professor of the art of War ; a Professor of 
Political Economy ; and a Professor of Morality, whose 
several duties and the time and order of performing them, 
shall be j^rescribed by the Hector and the Visitors. 

XL That the apprentices shall consist of such a por- 
tion and such a class of the youth of Xorth Carolina, as 
the Legislature shall from time to time deem fit, to be 
selected in just proportions from the several counties in the 
State, in reference to the amount of taxes paid by said 
counties respectively into the Public Treasury ; and that 
students from each until otherwise Ordered, the Countv of Anson shall be enti- 

county. 

tied to send two ; the county of Ashe one ; Brunswick, one ; 
Camden, one ; Buncombe, one ; Beaufort, one ; Burke, one ; 
Bladen, one; Bertie, two; Craven, two; Carteret, one; 
C^irrituck, one ; Caswell, two ; Chowan, one ; Chatham, 
two; Cumberland, four; Columbus, one; (^abarus, one; 
Duplin, one; Davidson, two; Edgecombe, four; Franklin, 
two ; Guilford, two ; Gates, one ; Granville, four ; Greene, 
one ; Halifax, four ; Hertford, one ; Hyde, one ; Haywood, 
one ; Iredell, one ; Jones, one ; Johnson, two ; Lincoln, two ; 
Lenoir, one ; Moore, one ; Montgomery, one ; Mecklinburg, 
two ; Martin, one ; Xew Hanover, four ; Xash, one ; Xorth- 



Potter's Poi.itical College Bill. 303 

ampton, four ; Onslow, one ; Orange, four ; Person, one ; 
Pas(|uotank, one ; Pitt, two ; Perquimans, one ; Rowan, 
two ; Eandolph, one ; Rocking'ham, two ; Robeson, 
one ; Richmond, one ; Rutherford, two ; Sampson, one 
Surry, one ; Stokes, two ; Tyrrell, one ; Washing- 
ton, one ; Wilkes, one ; Wake, four ; Warren, two ; 
and Wayne, two, to be selected and chosen in the following 
manner, to wit : The several County Courts of the State, 
a majority of the justices being present, are hereby author- 
ized and required at the first of their sessions, which shall 
be holden after they are apprized of the passage of this act, 
to appoint one Justice of the Peace, and two free holders, 
for each of the Militia Captains' Districts, within iueii 
Counties respectively ; and 

XII. That it shall be the duty of the trustees and Method of appoint- 
f reeholders so appointed to register immediatelv, the name a studVnt whose 

" • 1 • 1 T • • 11* father's estate is 

of every youth withm the district assigned them, who shall worth over 8i,too. 

be within six months of the age of fifteen years, either in 

anticipation or advance, and the estate of whose father, 

shall not exceed in value, a thousand dollars ; or in the 

case of orphans, the estate left by whose father, and then 

actually existing, shall not exceed in value the sum of a 

thousand dollars. 

XIII. That the several Registries when thus made out, 
shall, by the Justice and freeholders of the District, re- 
spectively making out the same, be returned to a General 
Assembly of the Justices of tlieir respective counties; and 
the Justices of the several county Courts of the State, are 
hereby authorized and required, at the term at which they 
shall appoint the Justice and freeholders of the District 
before mentioned, to agree among themselves a day or 
days on which they shall assemble at the Court House of 
their respective Counties, to receive and decide upon the 
return of the Justices and freeholders of the Districts. 

XIV. That in all eases where a question shall arise Disputes about 
under the twelfth section of the act relative to age or tem^Thl^glnlrsd^ 
estate, it shall be first decided by the Justices and free- tiees of the peace. 



304 Pottee's Political College Bill. 

holders as aforesaid, before whom it shall occur, upon 
such evidence and such views of the case, as they may deem 
just and conformable to the requisitions of the said sec- 
tion; but if any one should be dissatisfied with their de- 
cisions, they may state the question to the trustees of the 
county within which it may have arisen, at their General 
Assembly to which the District Justice and freeholders 
aforesaid are required to make their returns ; and the said 
Justices at their said General Assembly, are hereby au- 
thorized and empowered ultimately and finally to deter- 
mine, in their discretion all such questions. Provided 
that when the Justices of the said General Assembly shall 
be equally divided upon a question, the decision of the 
District Justices and freeholders shall abide. 
County visitor to XV. That 'the Justiccs of the General Assemblies 

examine those 

appointed. aforcsaid, when they have compared and examined re- 

turns of the several district Justices and freeholders, and 
in their discretion revised, altered, or confirmed the same 
(all which they are hereby authorized and empowered to 
do) shall communicate with the Visitor appointed for 
their County, and agree with him upon a day or days, 
when he shall visit them and examine the youths reg- 
istered as before required, in order to select from them 
an apj^rentice or aj^prentices as the case may be, for the 
Political College. 

XVI. That at the time thus agreed upon, by the Gen- 
eral Assemblies of the Justices of the several Counties, 
and the visitors thereof, the Justices shall again convene 
in General Assembly, at their respective court houses and 
cause the youths of the several districts of their respective 
examination and^^ ^^^^^^^^^ registered as bcforc required to be assembled 
Sntf''"^"^ there, that they shall then be introeluced to the Visitor, 
commissioned for that purpose, who shall in such mode 
as he shall deem most fit and ]u-oper, scrutinize and ex- 
amine them, and in his discretion select from among them 
such a number as the County may by the provisions of the 



PoTTEit's Political College Bill. 305 

Act be entitled to send to the Political College ; that where 
among the registered yonths of any county, there shall be 
a nninber greater than that which said County may be 
entitled to send to the Political College, who in the esti- 
mation of the visitor are equally gifted, and promise to be 
equally useful to the State, he may by lot decide which 
of them shall be selected. 

XVII. That when the apprentices have been selected certificates of 

i ^ selection furnished 

agreeably to the directions herein contained, the visitors *'^°*^^ '^pp""^^^*^- 
aforesaid shall furnish the apprentices by them respec- 
tively desig-nated certificates of their selection. They 
shall also furnish duplicates of said certificates to the 
Clerks of the several county courts of this State, who are 
hereby required to spread copies thereof, upon their sev- 
eral records. 

XVIII. The Visitors at the time they select and cer- 
tify the apprentices shall decide then when to present pointm'.Mit to be 

1 " 1 1 rr> f T /-^ n I pivscnteil to presi- 

tnemselves to the otncers oi the College, and every Appren- <ientofcoiiege. 
tice when he appears before the President and i^roles^ors 
of the College shall adduce the certificate of the Visitor 
as the evidence of his right to admission. 

When the certificates aforesaid have been passed upon 
by the officers of the College, or by the Rector and visi- 
tors, if they should be present and think proper to act, 
the apprentices shall be forthwith admitted to the privi- 
leges of the College, and subject to the discipline and duty 
thereof: Provided that the officers of the College or the 
Rector and Visitors thereof, may at any time revise and 
reverse any decision they may have made, where it ap- 
pears that fraud has been practiced upon them in relation 
to their certificates, and the State shall have a permanent 
and indefeasible title to the apprentices, with an exclu- ^ „ 

^i ■ College course of 

sive right to discipline and direct them at pleasure, for pu.trclnuro?of 
six years commencing from the day on which they enter L^'vl^'ouRTred olf " 
College ; during ail which time they shall be supported dents°to\llch "' 

,•1 .1 1 »,..\ ,, in three years. 

entirely at the charge of the institution, and for the first 
20 



306 PoTTiiK's Political College Bill. 

three years of their apprenticeship, shall be carried 
through a course of discipline and instruction, conform- 
able to the rules of the college, and then shall be subject 
during the three remaining years, to the performance of 
such duties, and at such stations, as the Eector and Visi- 
tors thereof may think proper to assign them. 
One-fifth of stu- XX. As a fundamental rule of discipline, which the 

dents at all times • i i 

to be employed on officers of the College, are to cause to be strictly observed, 

faJrm. ^ ' _ "^ _ 

one-fifth of the apprentices are, in turn, to be at all times, 
actively employed in agricultural labor on the College 
farm, unless special reason shall require this rule to be 
dispensed with. 
Visitors of the col- XXI. Be it further enacted: that the visitors afore- 

lege to be each . i i • a 

given a district. said shall at their first meeting under this Act, arrange 
the State into as many districts, as there may be visitors, 
and assign to each visitor a district respectively, and it 
shall be the duty of the several visitors to visit the Coun- 
ties composing their respective districts in the manner 
herein, before pointed out, for the purpose of carrying into 
effect the provisions of this act. 

Power to expel XXII. A Qiiorum of the Rector and the Visitors, or 

given rector and 

visitors. the Visitors alone, shall at any time have power to expel 

an apprentice from the College, and whenever a vacancy 
shall occur in the berth of an apprentice, in consequence 
of expulsion, or any other cause, it shall be the duty of the 
Visitor, from whose district such apprentice came, in his 
discretion to fill the same from his said District. 

Visitors to fix time XXIII. The Visitors shall in their discretion fix 

the college is to go 

ficers^^'^'^^'^*^^^ ' °*^" upon the time, when the college is to go into operation; 
they shall also in proper time appoint a President and 
four Professors, agreeably to the directions herein con- 
tained to preside immediately over the affairs of the Col- 
lege, and conduct the duties thereof; they may also in 
their discretion, appoint subordinate officers and servants, 
to the institution and prescribe the duties and compensa- 
tions of the same. The compensation of the five principal 



Potter's Political College Bill. 307 

officers of the College shall be as follows : P'or the Presi- 
dent a salary of fifteen hundred dollars per annum, and 
board ; and for each of the four Professors a salary of one 
thousaud dollars and board, the several salaries to be paid 
at the expiration of each and every year, that the Presi- 
dent or Professors entitled to the same may serve. 

XXIV. And be it further enacted, that to enable the 
Rector and Visitors to carry into effect the provisions of 
this act, the Treasurer of the State is hereby directed and 
empowered to borrow on the faith and credit of the State, »22o,ooo for the 

•^ ' endowment of the 

which is hereby pledged for the redemption of the same, college, 
the sum of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars, 
which as soon as he shall have obtained it, he shall pay 
over to the directors and Visitors of the Political College, 
hereby established^ who shall appropriate twenty thousand 
dollars thereof to the purchase and preparation of a farm, 
as herein before directed, and the other two hundred 
thousand dollars shall be vested at their discretion, in a 
permanent fund the interest of which shall enure forever 
to the benefit of the Political college of ISTorth Carolina, 
subje'ct to the control and management of the Eector and 
Visitors hereof, under the authority and supervision of 
the Legislature. 

Report of Committee. 

The Committee of Education, to whom was referred Report of commit- 
"A Bill to establish a political College for the State of 
ITorth Carolina," have had the same under consideration 
and respectfully recommend it to the house without 
amendment. Respectfully submitted, 

Roe. Potter, Chm. 

In House of Commons 1st P'eb. 1827 — read and with clerk's entry, 
the bill laid on the table^. 

— Unjmhlished Legislative Documents, 1826-7. House 
Journal 1826, p. 199. 

^This bill was never taken from the table. 



8. POTTER'S SPEECH ON HIS POLITICAL COLLEGE BILL. 

Legislature of IsTortli Carolina. 
House of Commons. 



Purpose of the pub- 
lication of the 
speech. 



REMAKKS OF MR. POTTER, 

On the bill to establish a Political College. 

The speech delivered bj Mr. Potter, on the 
22d ultimo, on the bill introduced by him to es- 
tablish a Political College, in this State, having 
created great excitement and lead to much con- 
versation, in order to correct misrepresentations, 
and procure a fair construction of his motives, 
he has thought proper to submit a copy for pub- 
lication. 



Summary of the 
provisions of the 
hill. 



This bill proposes the establishment of a central insti- 
tution, upon a farm in the county of Wake, to which 
those counties in the State which pay into the treasury,, 
by way of taxes, less than a thousand dollars, should be 
entitled to send one apprentice; those paying over a 
thousand, and less than two thousand, two ; and those- 
paying over two thousand, four. The number which 
would be furnished according to this ratio w^ould be one 
hundred and seven. It also provides that the State shall 
have a paramount and indefeasible title to the apprentices,, 
for six years from the day on which they might enter col- 
lege ; during the first three years of which, they are to be 
cfti-ried through a course of discipline and instruction con- 
formable to the rules of the college ; and for the remaining 
three years, in consideration of the education they shall 
have received, they are to perform the duty of instructors 
at such stations in the State, as the rector and visitors of 
the college may think proper to assign them. The ap- 
prentices are directed to be selected from among the 
youths of the State who shall be within six months of the 

308 



Potter's Speech. 309 

age of fifteen years, and the estate of whose fathers shall 
not exceed in value the sum of a thousand dollars. As a 
fundamental rule of discipline, the bill directs that the 
ajiprentiees be divided into- five classes, which in turn aro 
at all times to be actively engaged in agricultural labors 
on the college farm. To effect this, the bill previously di- 
rects "that a rector and fifteen visitors, to be chosen as 
shall hereinafter be directed, be incorporated, under the 
name and title of the 'rector and visitors of the Political 
College of I^. Carolina.' " It then directs that the visi- 
tors be chosen by a joint ballot of both Houses of the 
Legislature, and hold their appointment during the pleas- 
ure of a majority of the members of the same; and invests 
them with authority to apjDoint a rector, a president and 
four professors for the college, and prescribe their duties; 
to select the apprentices agreeably to rules laid down in 
the bill, to fix upon the time for the commencement of the 
operations of the college, to make all dispensations neces- 
sary for that purpose, and to carry into effect the details 
of the bill. It invests them, in short, with full powers of 
legislation, in all matters appertaining to the college, con- 
formably to the provisions of the bill ; and in order to 
enable them to effect the objects contemplated, directs the 
Treasurer of the State to borrow and place in their handss 
the sum of tw^o hundred and twenty thousand dollars ; 
twenty thousand of which to be appropriated to the pur- 
chase of a farm and construction of necessary buildings ; 
and the remaining two hundred thousand dollars, to be 
vested by the rector and visitors in a permanent fund ; the 
interest of wdiich to enure forever to the benefit of the 
college, subject to the management and control of the 
rector and visitors, under the authority and supervision of 
the Legislature. 

Mr. Speaker, — In submitting the proposition contained objeet to elevate 
in that bill, a proposition so novel in its character, and, ehm'aKer of North 

.^ -, 1 . . . -r , Carolina. 

II adopted, so important m its consequences, I trust the 
House will bear with me a moment, while I open on them 



310 Potter's Speech. 

some of the arguments in favor of it, and declare to them 
the motives which have impelled me to offer it. To sav 
that the object of this measure is to elevate and dignify 
the character of ISTorth Carolina, and provide for the con- 
tinnance of her safety, and the enlargement of her happi- 
ness, by enlightening and liberalizing the faculties of her 
people — that its ultimate scope is nothing less than the 
diffusion of education among the mass of her children, is 
at once to announce the magnitude of its importance. 
Sir, if it be mind which gives to man the dominion of the 
world — if it be that which distinguishes him from the 
brutes that perish, and almost exalts him to an equality 
with heaven, then the process, by which its mighty attri- 
butes are developed and harmonised, is obviously an ob- 
ject of paramount consideration. But forcible and unde- 
niable as is this truth, and urged upon us from sources of 
North Carolina has oracular sacredness, l^orth Carolina seems ever to have 

s&dlv riGSflGctGd the 

diffusion of knowi- remained most sadly insensible to it; while many of her 

edge ; tliis state '' ' . . , 

behind every other sistgr States havc addressed themselves to the subject with 

member of the •' 

""^''"- a degree of energy and zeal, which indicate their sense of 

the vitality of its importance ; while they have most lib- 
erally devoted their best resources to the development of 
the moral and intellectual energies of their people, North 
Carolina, in this, as in every other useful improvement, 
has continued to stumble and flounder on, at a lazy and 
lagging pace, behind every other member of the Union. 

The state must Sir it is time she were disenchanted — it is time she was 

realize her degra- 
dation, brought to a just and full sense of her degradation — it is 

time that the spell which has so long sealed her energies 
in death, should be broken, and her thoughts should be 
raised from the habitual contemplation of low and subor- 
dinate objects, and fixed upon her manlier and more ex- 
alted interests. Would you ask how this is to be done — 
would you ask how "a consummation so devoutly to be 
The people must wishcd," is to be accomplished? I answer, educate the 

be educated. . . •iitic- 

people — ^yes, let in upon their minds the light of science 



Potter's Speech. 311 

and of truth — confer npon tliem the capacity of thinking 
- — ^enable them justly to appreciate their relation to their 
country — give them to see and understand their rights and 
interests, and the prevailing instinct of nature will impel 
them to assert and pursue them. If this proposition, 
bearing, as I conceive, upon its very face the impress of 
beauty and truth, should yet be deemed to require the 
sanction of authority, I would direct you to the sentiments 
of those chiefs and sages, whose valor won, whose wisdom 
established our liberties. The man who, when living, re- 
ceived the homage of all hearts, and whose name like a 
charm still enchants the world — whose form shadowed 
forth upon the wall, in the attitude of entreaty, would Quotes Washington 

, -,.„,. on education. 

seem to beckon and persuade you to the adoption oi his 
favorite maxim. That sainted sage, in the last word ad- 
dressed by him to his country, in language the most ear- 
nest and emphatic, invited her attention to this subject. 
These are his words : " 'tis substantially true, that virtue 
or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. 
The rule indeed extends with more or less force to ever' 
species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend 
to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake 
the foundation of the fabric ? Promote, then, as an ob- 
ject of primary importance, institutions for the general 
diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure 
of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essen- 
tial that public opinion should be enlightened." The convention of 

1 Ti • 1776 enjoined the 

Ihe Congress oi w6, whose deliberations were con- general education 
ducted in the borough which I have the honor to repre- 
sent, some of whose members were then fresh from the 
battles of their country, and yet reeking in the blood of 
their enemies — whilst the fierce and furious din of civil 
discord shook this mighty continent, and the echoes of the 
ball and the sabre were sighing and shivering in their ears 
— resolved as fate — calm and unmoved as gods, deciding 
on the destinies of mortals — even amidst those terrible 
convulsions, they were not unmindful of this important 



of the people. 



312 Potter's Speech. 

subject; and, in the charter furnished by their delibera- 
tions, under which we are now assembled, they intro- 
duced a provision, enjoining it as a duty on the Legisla- 
ture which they then created, to provide for the general 
The stiiiject Ron- educatiou of their people. To the misfortune of the peo- 
formeriugisiatures. pie, and the lasting shame of those who have heretofore 
occupied the places which we now fill, that duty has never 
been performed, though occasionally reminded of it by ad- 
venturesome members of their own body, and sometimes 
casually invited to it in the annual messages of the execu- 
tive, until our present Chief Magistrate, in his recent com- 
munication, has pressed the subject upon us with a solici- 
tude and anxiety, characteristic of his well known deep 
and virtuous sensibility to the best interests of his people. 
The Legislatures from time to time have sported with the 
subject, by adopting a barren resolution in its favor; but 
as yet they have done nothing decisive in relation to it. 
They did, indeed, at the last session, set apart some 
trifling branches of the revenue, which they were pleased 
The present ^^ stvle "The Literary Fund;" but if not added to, the 

literary fund , ,. .t. . lir-j. 

inadequate. present generation at least must pass away beiore it ac- 

cumulates sufficiently, to afford effectual aid to the people. 
Sir, this is not the way to treat this matter — it is a sub- 
ject not to be dallied with. I would seize upon it with 
the determined energy, with which, if drowning, I would 
grapple a plank in the surge. I would embrace it as a 
Education our only iTieasure, ou which depended our last, our only hope, of 
provement.' social improvement, or political exaltation ; and if the 

measure I now tender you, be not accepted, or some effi- 
cient system for disseminating education amonc; our peo- 
ple be not adopted, I shall sit down in despair, over the 
irreclaimable degradation of my country. But, by 
heaven, I will not believe it — I cannot believe you will 
turn away your faces, and refuse to sanction and approve 
this measure. I cannot believe, you will thus impliedly 



Potter's Speech. 313 

decide that our peo})le arc incapable of virtue or excel- 
lence, and that thej are only 

^'Born to eat, and be despised and die, 

Ev'n as the brutes that jjerish, save that thcj- 

Have a more noble trough, and wider sty." 

I would invoke the genius of my country to come to my 
side, and aid me in persuading you to the adoption of this 
measure. Sir, if she were indeed to appear among us — 
if the genius of 'N. Carolina were now to present herself sad picture of the 

.. present condition 

to you, who are charged with the destinies of her people, of the state, 
instead of the majesty of a guardian goddess — instead of 
a radiant brow, and an eye flashing light and dignity on 
this assembly, you would mark her with a pallid front, and 
"sad and shrouded eye," and in the hollow accents of de- 
spair, she would demand of you, in the language of admo 
nition and reproof, "why sit ye here, all the while idle r' 
why assemble here from session to session, and expend 
your time upon ephemeral objects, while you neglect the 
very salvation of the republic? why meet you here from 
year to year, to scuffle over subjects, unimportant to the 
public, and trifling in themselves, or to squabble about the 
disposition of a clerkship or a judgeship, whilst the peo- 
ple, for whom all this is intended — for whose benefit gov- 
ernment was established, law^s enacted, and judges ap- 
jjointed — whilst the people are left to rust in primeval ig- Thej.eopieieftto 

... ™ . , 1 , 1 r- ru.st in their prime- 

norance — rotting from sire to son, and a^e to age, deaf vai i^noran.e 

1 11 111 T-1 1 n on 1 1 m while tlie le,i,'isla- 

as the adder, and dark as Jirebus « She would tell you, t"n>s(iuai)i)ie 

" over tritles. 

you were a degraded and despised community ; but only 
so, because you would be so. She would tell you that 
ISToTth Carolina was a lion in the net, an eagle without 
his pinions, fixed upon the earth, and gazing at the sun 
in despair, and she would conjure you to make one gener- 
ous, one manly effort, to redeem and disenthral her — to 
take, at this moment, a firm and noble stand in support 
of the most sacred riglits of humanity — to silence in your 



314 Potter's Speech. 

action'itffaTOr of ^^^^'^^ ^^® Suggestions of every selfish passion, and act 
pgopfg^*^^*^ with a single eye to the honor and interests of your coun- 
try. She would remind you of the frailty of life, and the 
immortality of virtue. She would tell you, that time 
scoffs and hisses at the grandest achievements of man, 
and crushes, and crumbles, the proudest monuments of 
his power; but that fate itself had no control over virtue, 
essentially eternal, it should live, like a cherub smiling 
above the storm, when the frail forms fro-m which it 
sprung, should have returned to the clod of the valicy. 
She would warn you that the flight of time was rapid and 
irrevocable; and with a voice, like the music of the 
spheres, she would implore you to seize upon the passing 
hour — to make it your own, and render it immortal, by 
consecrating it to patriotism. Cheered and elated at the 
effect of her admonition, her form now buoyant with hope, 
her brow brightening and flushing, and her eye dilating — 
tearing the shroud from her face, and stamping with an 
emphasis that should wake an echo in every cottage of 
Carolina ; in a tone of encouragement and command, she 
would exclaim to you, as she retired, "Arise! thou can'st 
and must." Yes, to be great, North Carolina has only to 
will to be so. She has moral and intellectual energies_, 
which, if put into action, would command for her an hon- 
orable and enviable elevation in the Union — an elevation, 
where the proudest should conceive themselves honored in 
her smile. She has, indeed, though all unknown to the 
world, names dear alike to genius and science — names, 
which the all-enduring hand of fame will inscribe upon 
the proudesi pillar of her temple, and over which the most 
approving smiles of virtue have been poured. The vir- 
tues of Henderson alone, might atone for the errors of a 
vicious age, and win from heaven a pardon for its frailties 
Deplorable absence and its f ollics. Like a proud tower of other days, time- 

01 patriotic pride ; ^ ^ ./ ' 

Sven°ufe'"eader-' ^^^^^'^^ 1^"* unyielding, that lifts its brow to heaven, itself 
shipofafi'airs. ^-^^ image of eternity, standing amidst desolation, ho 



Potter's Speech. 315 

stands, in all the grandeur of intellectual solitude, upon a 
soulless waste, over whose dreary and cheerless bosom the 
eye of the mind searches elsewhere in vain for shelter and 
a resting place. If there should prevail every where else 
a dearth of feeling and of thought, to him would I rej)air, 
as did the way-farers of Israel to the moral fountain, so 
sublimely typified in the rock of the desert. To him 
would 1 repair, to renovate, refresh, and sustain my 
spirit, as to an exhaustless source of truth, of virtue and 
of wisdom. But though we have' such men of might 
among us, they continue here in the backwoods of l^T. 
Carolina, drifting quietly along the stream of life, theii 
noble energies lost to their country, and expended, chiefly 
on mere private professional pursuits. Such is the de- 
plorable absence of high feeling and patriotic pride among 
our people — such their profound ignorance, not only of 
what concerns their honor and their rights, but their in- 
terests merely, that instead of arming and sending forth 
their strong men to battle they seem content to entrust 
the conduct of their political ranks to the merest pigmies 
of the community. It is a fact, justly mortifying to the 
pride of every enlightened lover of his country, that 
though among our delegation to the National Legislature, Many representa- 

, , ^ , 11 1 • • r> tives" In congress 

there be several worthy gentlemen, yet many districts ot have no honor, 
our people have selected, as the guardians of their politi- 
cal interests, and the champions of their political honor, 
men who are known to have no honor of their own, and 
no ability to defend it, if they had it. Well may it be 
said of them, "The ass knoweth his owner, and the ox its 
master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people do not 
consider." The people do not indeed know, or consider 
what they do. They do not consider, that the national 
government, having from the time of its organization, been 
invested with a strong control. over most of the important 
objects of legislation, is now fast attracting, and drawing 
within the verge of its power, every essential interest of 



316 Pottek's Speech, 

the people; and, consequently, that the thirteen men, de- 
puted bj them to the national legislature, are probably 
every day called upon to decide questions bearing more 
decisively and vitally upon their rights and welfare, than 
do the whole body of measures, which we here at home 
have to act upon, in a six week's course of legislation. It 
is not less appalling than disgusting, the effect on the mag- 
nitude of the trust, and the responsibility of the trusted. 
Our legislature en- While WO sit here engaged in listening to petitions for 

gaged in frivolous . . x j • i .-j.- ^ j- ^ ■ ^■ 

matters, while con- gatcs, petitions f Or divorccs and petitions lor legitimatvi 

gress Votes away j. o 

the national reve- bastai'ds, they are carrying on stupendous operations, and 

nue to otiier states : ^ J i/ o i i ■ ? 

cond won.°^^"^'^ expending millions of money, drawn from the pockets of 
the people ; and how expending it 'i Aye, how expending 
it ? why, the money raised from honest, laborious and self- 
devoted JSTorth Carolina, is expended in other states. It 
is transferred to those states, who do themselves the jus- 
tice, to send to their I^ational Legislature, not topers, and 
fools, and vagabonds, but men — men whose characters and 
talents command for the interests of their people, a de- 
cided preponderance there. North Carolina, the sixth 
state in the Union, in numbers and intrinsic resources, 
is yet the very last in political dignity. She exercises 
less influence and controul over the measures of the na- 
tional government, than the little State of Delaware, with 
a single representative. In the appropriate and emphatic 
language of one of the few men in our national delegation, 

North Carolina the of whoui WO mav be iustlv uroud, I^orth Carolina is the 

Ireland of the "■' •> J l ^ 

voii°e'\nSn|re"s- I^'^^'^ii*^^ ^f the Uuiou. Ycs, sir, WO ai'c the tributaries of 
the reason. ^]^g Uuion. "In the swcat of our faces do we earn our 

bread," and pay to our masters what they demand of us ; 
and the only benefit which we derive from it, with some 
honorable exceptions be it spoken, is the privilege of send- 
ing a few cattle to AVashington, to be stalled and fattened 
there during the winter, on a part of the proceeds of our 
own labor. If ever we disturb the silence of the hall of 
■Odin, and mingle in the din of its gladiators, our "voice, 



Potter's SrEECH. 317 

is like that of one from the wilderness, whom no one 
heareth." The expression of onr washes is met with bitter 
scoTn, or with calm contempt, and cold neglect, from the 
]^ational Legislature, and the National government. 
Why ^ Because the organs, through which, in a great 
measure, we choose to communicate wnth them, are not en- 
titled to respect themselves, and cannot, therefore, com- 
mand it of us. But if, in "these piping times of peace," 
they are utterly inadequate to the great trust confided to 
them, it is dreadful, it is horrible to reflect, what our peo- 
ple may suffer from the impotency, in great and danger- 
ous emergencies. And can we be so infatuated as to in- 
dulge the hope, that we are to be left forever to the calm 
and undisturbed enjoyment of our rights — rights, to estab- 
lish which, the wealth of our fathers was exhausted and 
their best blood poured forth like water '^ Believe me, 
no ! Liberty is a divinity, whose favor, as it is not to be 
won, so neither can it be kept by the offerings of dullness 
and luxury. Wisdom and virtue alone can propitiate her 
smiles ; and never does her votary appear so lovely in her 
eyes, as wdien his glove of mail is dyed in gore. Sir, the 
time wall come — nay the time is coming, when, without 
the most lieroical mildness, magnanimity and forbearance, 
not this State only, but this mighty Union, is to be shaken 
and convulsed to its very centre ; and it is in these halls — 
it is in the halls of legislation, rather than the "tented 
field," that questions are to be decided, involving na- 
tional liberty, or national slavery — National existence, or 
national death. In such an event, when that crisis shall 
arise, when the storm that is now silently collecting in 
its wrath, shall actually burst u])on us, what will be our 
attitude? Aye, wdiat will be the bearing of North Caro- 
lina with such men in her national council, as Daniel Bar- Names the incom- 

^ . -i-rr-Ti petent members of 

ringer, VVillis Alston, and Lemuel Sawyer' Will they congress from 

^ ' ' "^ -^ North Carolina. 

protect US ? Can they protect us ? 'Tis notorious, that 
neither have the sagacity nor the energy to do it. They 



318 Pottek's Speech. 

have not the soul to stand in the presence of the mighty 
men with whom they are absurdly classed, and in their 
faces calmly, but boldly, assert our rights and advocate 
our interests. Pardon me, sir, I do not regard this as a 
proper place to bandy vulgar epithets. I have too much 
respect for the gentlemen with whom I am associated, and 
before whom I now stand — I have too much respect for 
myself wantonly to indulge here, in expressions of per- 
sonal hostility. I cherish none towards either of those 
unfortunate men ; but I feel indignant and disgusted at 
the degradation of my country, and it is under a sense of 
public duty that I speak, when I say that one of them, 
is not only without talent and without character, but with- 
out free-agency— -that he is not only a slave to mean and 
low propensities of his own, but a pimp and a caterer to 
the selfish and sordid passions of a malignant villian and 
a vile slanderer. Yes, he is governed by a fellow, who is 
himself governed by the Federal Government, who holds 
a sinecure under the Federal Government, and in the last 
3 years has pocketed ten thousand dollars from the treas- 
ury of the union, without having rendered a single act of 
service for it; but has continued here at home, lounging 
about the courts of the country, and slandering our most 
virtuous and useful citizens, only because they were hon- 
ester than himself, and because, here at home by their 
country who knew them both they had been more honor- 
ably noticed and advanced. One might have expected 
better things from his age ; but the whiteness of his hair, 
bleached by the frost of fifty winters, forms a singular 
and sad contrast to the darkness of the thoughts that roll 
below. But I forbear. It is a sufficient punishment to 
him to be what he is. Let it not be supposed, that be- 
cause I thus allude to the characters of mean men, who 
hold high stations in the country, that I am the less re- 
gardful of the honor of my country. I love my country, 
and would die for her. Yes, sir, if the offering of my 



Potter's Speech. 319 

poor life could in aught advance her interests or her honor, 
heaven knows that I would lay it down as promptly and as 
cheerfully as ever gallant entered the bower of consenting 
maiden; but though ''with all her faults 1 love her still," 
I will not flatter those faults, I will not flatter her rank 
vices and follies — I will not ''bend to her idolatries a pa- 
tient knee, nor cry aloud, in worship of an echo ;" but 
rather hold a mirror up to her which, by reflecting her 
moral deformities full in her face, shall teach her, if pos- 
sible to turn away, in shame and terror from them. It 
is right — it is necessary, she should see how she is gulled 
and dishonored. She does not know it — she does not feel 
it — and all the ills she bears, are to be traced to her pro- 
found insensibility — to her political character and politi- 
cal rights. I affirm, that such a sentiment, as an enlight- Enlightened 
ened regard to the dignity and interests of their country, dignity of the 

State does not 

does not exist amone- the mass oi the people of JNorth- exist among the 

" ^ -^ masses. 

Carolina ; and, in the name of God, I would ask you who 
are assembled here, under the sacred and responsible ob- 
ligation to guard their honor, preserve their rights, and 
provide for their welfare, if you will continue to sit 
quietly here, with your arms folded, and wait for heaven 
to inspire them with it ? The days of inspiration are no 
more, and it will be vain and idle in us, to expect our peo- 
ple to become wise and virtuous, until we give an impulse 
to their slumbering energies. To impart that impulse is the The kind of cdu- 
ol)jcct of the measure I now tender you. It is founded on '''^^lo'^ ^^ceded. 
the admission of our inability at this time, to extend the 
benefits of education to all our people, and proposes, 
therefore, to select from the several sections of the State 
such a portion of our youths as we can conveniently edu- 
cate, and assemble them in a common college, that we may 
qualify them to instruct the others. Let not the plain 
and prudent men of the house be started at the name of 
the institution— nothing extravagant, nothing grand in 
the common sense of the word, is intended. It is not 
proposed to instruct our young men how to educate their 



320 Potter's Speech. 

bodies, to shine in the drawing rooms, and prattle about 
literature and the sciences, but to instil into their hearts 
the chastest and severest principles of virtue and philoso- 
phy- — to teach them, as the cardinal principle of education 
that the first and most sacred obligation of a citizen is his 
duty to his country, and qualify them, at the same time, 
efficiently to perform it. All is to be conducted on the 
most rigid principles of economy — a farm is to be estab- 
lished, and plain wooden buildings constructed, as the 
only outward signs of the college ; and, as a fundamental 
rule of discipline; the young men are to be divided into 
five classes, and in turn to be constantly engaged in agri- 
cultural labours on the college farm. The influence of an 
The college would institution, founded and conducted on these principles, 
effect%oE^aii"the Avould not be limited to its own membership. It would 
have an exalting effect on the morality of the whole com- 
munity, and strongly tend to create an enlightened tone of 
sentiment, and a just sense of excellence. Who can say, 
that such a sense now exists among us ? I affirm that it 
does not. We are magnanimous enough in professions. 
We say we are republicans, and profess to live for virtue 
and for liberty ; but when we come to act — when we are 
called upon for that true touchstone of the heart, we show 
at once the emptiness of these professions. Every man's 
experience must have satisfied him of this. I have my- 
self striking exemplifications of the fact. I have met 
Our professions are with those, who wcre all magnanimity in professions, but 

great, our acts • t i ^ £ 

small. real meanness m conduct — ^who, under an appearance ot 

simplicity approaching to childishness, and generosity bor- 
dering upon enthusiasm, concealed a degree of guile and 
of selfishness, that would have augmented the address of 
the primal seducer. Yes, sir, the great Don Juan of 
Eden himself, who triumphed over the virtue of our first 
mother, was not more wily and more artful, and, like him, 
it is their great luxury, with insidious creepings, to wind 
their way into the unsuspecting heart, only to deposit their 



Potter's Speech. 321 

poison there, and leave it blackened, if not blasted by tlie 
contagion. I call upon yon all to look around you in the 
world, and see if its dignities depend on virtue. Do you 
not everywhere behold villians, insensible to all the obliga- 
tions of morality and patriotism, whose wealth alone se- 
cures to them the smiles aiul honors of the world, when, 
too, in the very acquisition of it they have violated not 
only the kindly feelings of nature and humanity, but the 
sternest principles of truth and justice 't Yet, it matters 
not, though a scoundrel may have robbed his mother, his 
father, his brother, his friend, or his country, if he has 
done it in a way to screen himself from a prosecution, 
and save his ears, though he may basely have put into 
his pocket ten thousand dollars of the money of the peo- 
ple, for which he never rendered a single act of service, 
yet having secured it, he may furnish feasts, and honest 
imen will condescend to share them, Nay, more, he may means of endfng 
obtain a place in the Legislature of his State, and there coMUion^!' 
procure the passage of an act, for his own private and 
especial benefit — an act, bearing upon its very face a lie, 
and having for its object nothing more or less than the 
securing of a legal fee in his dishonest and "itching 
palm" ; and yet not only escape the vengeance due to 
crime, but continue to legislate for the very people he has 
thus betrayed and dishonored. I call upon you, the guar- 
dians of the morality, as well as the rights of the people. 
to put your faces against their abominations ; and by adopt- 
ing the system of education before you, prepare the way 
for exterminating these evils. The people should be in- 
structed to respect nothing but virtue ; to despise and 
tread upon a villian, though his limbs l)e arrayed in gold 
and fine linen. 

The mere contemplation of such an institution as the The proposed coi- : 

T 1 1 X T 1 Til- ^^^^ would fit ".'^ 

one proposed, would stronglv tend to accomplish this re young men to serve 

, "" ' ^ their country. 

suit. It would be a sublime and noble spectacle to see a 
body of young men, associated together under the sanction 

21 



322 Pottek's Speech. 

and patronage of their country; the direct and exclusive 
object of whose education, should be the attainment of 
excellence. It would relieve them, too, from the degrad- 
ing consciousness of dependence, to know that while they 
were qualifying themselves to serve their country, the}- 
could, in a course of healthful exercise, produce what was 
necessary to sustain and support themselves. It would 
dignify labour, and make it respectable, not only in their 
eyes, but those of the community ; and would thus furnish 
a powerful incentive to general industry. It is impossible 

Agriculture would to detail. Or even to anticipate, the many advantages which 
might result to the country, from the agricultural depart- 
ment of the college. Agriculture, the most important in- 
terest of North-Carolina, for we are essentially a body of 
farmers, would there be systematised and reduced to sci- 
ence : the professor of agriculture would be chosen for his 
knowledge of the elementary principles, as well as the 
practical details of the science ; and, in the conduct and 
government of the college farm, might throw a body of 
new light on the subject, which would be eminently ser- 
viceable to the whole community. 'Next in importance 
to the department of agriculture, is the military profes- 
sorship. It is admitted to be incompatible with the spirit 

The militia would of our government to keep on foot a body of mercenaries; 

be rendered etii- ^ . 

cient. and hence it has been laid down as one of the cardinal 

principles of our republican policy, that to the militia 
should be left the defence of our liberties. Is i^ not 
greatly important then, that they should be efficiently dis- 
ciplined and instructed ? Who that has attended the ar- 
rays of our militia, and witnessed their clumsy and un- 
graceful evolutions, but must laugh to scorn the idea of 
their offering effectual resistance to a disciplined foe ? I 
am sure I do not err, when I say that ten thousand men, 
who had seen service — ten thousand courageous and dis- 
ci])lined troops, thrown upon the coast of North Carolina, 
mio'ht overrun the State with fire and sword. Let not mv 



Potter's Speech. 323 

sentiments be misunderstood. The light of heaven no 
where shines upon a braver or a hardier race than that of 
ITorth Carolina. I do not believe there is on earth a ,^^;;%^;^ ^Xmu^''" 
people, with bolder hearts or stouter hands, than those we {ifeVeoS'"" "* 
represent; but the history of all time has shewn, that, in 
the field, the best and noblest efforts of valour are vain 
without discipline. If we would be wise, therefore, and 
act upon the lessons of the paot, let us now, when it is in 
our power, lav the foundation of a general military edu- 
cation for our people. If it be desirable that they should 
be disciplined at all; and our policy is mainly founded 
upon that principle, then it is obvious they should be well, 
discii^linid ; .so that, in time of need, they may stand forth, 
the guardians of our liberties, our women, our children, 
and our firesides. Among other interesting results, this 
important one Avould inevitably attend the adoption of the 
system before yoi.. It does not propose to make enlight- 
ened citizens of those merely, who shall be immediately 
educated under it ; but through them, to reach and in- 
struct the great body of our people. It is to be remem- ?^^"t'|^c'he'^^'J^\^'^ *° 
bered, as the condition on which their country is to under- th"state*!^effects 
take to educate them, that she is to have a paramount and o'^^'^'p*^- 
indefeasible title to their services, for six years from the 
day on wliicli their education commences; and that, after 
they have been supported and instructed for three years at 
the Political College, thev are to be distributed through 
the State, at such stations as the Kector and Visitors of 
the College shall think proper to assign them, and there 
serve the other three years in disseminating among their 
countrymen the benefits of that education, and that dis- 
cipline, which their country shall have conferred upon 
them. We shall thus have created for ourselves a boely of 
instructors eminently and efficiently qualified to superin- 
tend the morality and intellect of the State, and to give a 
just and enlightened direction to it ; and when district 
schools shall have been establisheel throughout the State, 
the Political College can remain ns a focus for the concen- 



324 Potter's Speech. 

tration of the genius of the country. It would be a nu- 
cleus, round which the sentiments and affections of the 
people would form — it would give life and soul to the 
State — it would be to her, what now she has not, a heart, 
equally enlivening and animating all her parts, and would 
soon absorb the stupid and selfish prejudices now enter- 
tained by one portion of our people against the other. 
The men who should be educated there, would be particu- 
larly qualified to contribute to this result. One of the 
principles of the measure is to extend the aid of the State 
only to those who are unable to educate themselves. 
Taken, therefore, from the humblest grade of life, and 
exalted by education, they would, when they returned 
among their countrymen, have more authority and influ- 
ence with them, than those of equal abilities, but higher 
birth, and better fortunes than their own. It is impossi- 
ble at this time to enumerate all the advantages which 
might result from such an institution, or even adequately 
to discuss the details of the measure itself. Perhaps, 
however, among other reasons for opposition, it may be 
objected to, on the ground of the smallness of the number 
All the people can which it proposes to educate. To this, I answer, that the 

notnowbeedu- j. ij.* tutj "x* u 

cated; only a few. sparccncss 01 our population, din:used as it is over such 
an extensive space, and the condition of our fiscal con- 
cerns, forbids, at this time, the thought of educating all 
our people ; and it is, therefore, proposed to select from 
among them such a portion as our funds will enable us 
to educate, and qualify them to instruct the others. It 
may be answered, too, that if the number of young men 
to be educated, compared with the whole number of the 
State, be small, the sum to be raised by the State to sup- 
port and educate them, compared with the whole amount 
of the funds of the State, is proportionately small. The 
interest of it might be raised from the property of ISTorth 
Carolina, and so trifling would be the portion which each 
man would pay, that unless reminded of it, he scarcely 
would perceive it. Many gentlemen in my part of the 



Potter's Speech. 325 

State annually contribute a hundred times as mucli as 
their share of it would amount to, to improve the breed 
of game cocks and race-horses. Besides, a hundred men, 
educated in the manner proposed, would be worth to the 
State more than a hundred thousand, with a mere smat- 
tering of education. 

In all ages, in all countries, wc find that in difficult and The value of a few 

. 1111 educated men. 

dangerous emergencies, the saiety oi many has depended 
on the few ; and in a decisive crisis, a hundred such men 
.would be worth to us far more than the "rascal counters" 
which wa should expend npon tJiem. They might be 
worth to us our liberties. Sir, would you ask for an in- 
stance of the amazing influence, which even one great mind, 
happily cultivated and fairly developed, could exercise 
over the interests, the character and the fame, even of a 
learned and powerful nation. Xone who have communed 
with him, ever can forget the divine spirit that breathes 
and burns in every line of the immortal Scottish tales. 
(As an author, he has done more for his country, than- ever what waiter seott 

' has done for his 

man before did for his country. He has rescued Scotland country, 
from comparative obscurity and oblivion, and made her a 
holy, and a haunted region. Every vale of his native 
land has been lighted up with a ray of his genius, and her 
mountains and her caverns are peopled with the children 
of his fancy. Among his pages, her chiefs and sages rise, 
like "spirits conjured from the vasty deep," and stand 
embodied there, in the eternal panoply of truth — truth 
avouched by history, and consecrated by genius. Their 
thoughts, their deeds, their very forms, have all the 
^varmth and freshness of life; and we hear, and see, and 
almost feel them, with as palpable distinctness, as if they 
yet "lived, and moved, and had their being." But 
whence the mighty power, that could thus, "as with the 
stroke of an enchanter's wand," call back the vanished 
models of past excellence, to act as monitors of living men, 
persuading us by their eloquence, and exalting us by their 
example, to the pursuit of virtue and excellence ? Whence, 



826 



Potter's Speech. 



Education makes 
the (lifference be- 
tween Scott and 
many North Caro- 
lina boys. 



Tribute to Edwin 
Paschalle. 



I say, this mighty — this magic power? The original ca- 
pacity must indeed have come from heaven ; but its devel- 
opment was the fruit of education alone. But for the ex- 
panding and ennobling influence of education, even Scott 
himself, 

"In life's low vale remote, had pined alone, 
Then drop'd into the grave, unpitied and unknown." 
In education alone, may consist the difference between 
his mind, and that of many a youth, now toiling at the 
handles of a plough, in the fields of Carolina; and the- 
elements of as great a heart might be found beneath the 
tattered vest of many a helpless boy. Nay, I take it upon 
myself to say, that I do not know a man, reared and liv- 
ing among us in profound obscurity, scarcely less divinely 
gifted than Scott himself, who, if his lot had been cast in 
a kindly and intellectual region, would have been the ob- 
ject of universal love and admiration — whose spirit, if ic 
had been courted into expansion, and enlivened into ac- 
tion, would have been a blessing to his country, and an 
ornament to humanity ; but, alas ! alas ! too gentle and too 
delicate, to meet and master the rugged storm of vulgar 
passions and stupid prejudices, that spirit is fast retiring 
within the dark and icy chamber of despair. I speak, 
and I could weep while I speak, of the immortal Edwin 
Paschalle. Yes, though his name be like my own, un- 
known to fame, yet here in the face of my country and 
the world, I dare to call him the immortal Edwin Pas- 
challe, for the elements of his mind and of his heart can 
never dissolve, but must endure forever. Death may in- 
deed lay low his mortal form, and remove him from a 
scene unworthy of his pure spirit; and when that hour 
shall arrive, to him bringing neither terror nor sadness, 
when the shaft of the dark and relentless monster shall 
reach and rive his sublime heart, the genius of poetry will 
hover o'er the spot where he reposes, and chant to the 
winds of the evening, "a mute, inglorious Milton, here 
doth rest." And will you thus permit the genius of your 



Potter's Speech. 327 

coimtry to droop and wither, and die of inanition ? Will tion [IroiV.sod'wiii' 

, , . , . ,. • , 11 i T 1 teiiil to rciiiovo the 

vou leave the rich mine oi intellectual ore, every where distinction of 

1 1 1 Q wealth. 

abounding in your State, unexplored and unwrought i 
Or, rather, will you not forthwith establish a moral mint, 
and work it up, as the only source of true wealth and hap- 
piness to the people ? The University, indeed, is now 
open to the sons of the wealthy, where they are received 
and cultivated to the utmost extent of the capability of 
improvement ; but those of the needy must gaze upon that 
temple of science, as did the patriarch on the land of 
promise, as a place they are destined never to reach. 
Adopt the system of education proposed to you and it 
will at once remedy this hardship and remove these un- 
just distinctions. Wherever a genius shall appear, with 
more than ordinary promise of ability to serve his family 
and his country, no matter how obscure his birth, how low 
his fortune, the fostering hand of his country will be ex- 
tended to him — he will be taken under her protection and 
his education provided for. Sir, I despise gasconading 
here and elsewhere, and it is only because I know, that 
Avere I called upon, I should be prompt to act as I am to 
speak, that I now declare to you, that such is my sense of 
the utility of this measure, of its vast importance to the 
dearest interests of my country, that if blood alone could 
procure its adoption, and the sacrifice of an humble indi- 
vidual would suffice, here in my face would I receive the 
axe of the executioner. At this moment, and on this ^*^F.of P"Wi<' , 

■ ■ opinion controls 

spot, would I bow me down, and submit to the death stroke be?s^on appropria- 
cf the headsman ; and I should depart with the consoling 
and triumphant conviction, that T had done more to exalr 
the chai'acter of my country, to enlarge her happiness, 
and perpetuate her liberties, than if I had been entrusted 
with the command of her citizens, and had met and van- 
quished her enemies in the field. But, alas ! for the honor 
and the interest of the State, such is the doting fondness 
Avith which many of us cling to the pettiest portion of 
power, such our extreme reluctance to incur the least lia- 



328 Potter's Speech. 

bility to lose the dear favor of the people, that whenever 
we are called upon to make an appropriation for money, 
though it be directly and obviously for their benelit, we 
fix our eyes at once upon their brilliant chandelier, and 
begin to calculate the chances of returning next winter, to 
spend six or eight weeks in this tine hall, with the right 
to say yea and nay, on unimportant questions. I should 
hope, however, that on this occasion you would discard all 
selfish considerations, and resolve to act worthily of your 
country and yourselves. I know not how it may be with 
the rest of you ; but, for myself, when I shall cease to live 
in accordance with the dictates of honor and of truth — 
when I shall be deterred by any consideration whatever, 
from the bold and honest discharge of my duty to my con- 
stituents and my country, may the execration of those con- 
stituents and of that country await me — may the sjjirit of 
my father, whose heart w-as exalted, though his station 
was lowly, and whose principles remained pure and un- 
altered, even by the foulest and most evil destiny — aye ! 
may his spirit indignantly swoop on me from on high, and 
blast me with the wrath of his eternal curse. "O, Gen- 
tlemen, the time of life is short, to spend that shortness 
basely were too long: though life did ride upon a dial's 
point, still ending at the arrival of an hour." Of the 
frailty and the fleetingness of our nature, what an appall- 
ing and mournful exemplification have we just beheld. 
Refers to the ftite While Standing up here in the presence of his country, the 

of Stanly. , . „, . iin ... 

champion oi her best and noblest mstitution, ni the full 
exertion of his divine energies, in defence of her dearest 
and most essential interests, the godlike Stanly faltered 
in his course — even his great, his mighty mind quailed 
and sunk beneath the mysterious power of heaven. In the 
arms of his weeping country he fell, who, wdth grief un- 
utterable, had marked his failing, and rose with eager 
zeal to receive and sustain him. The fortitude with which 
he met the blow, the effort of his undauntable spirit to 
bear his body up against the shock; the dignified and 



Potter's Speech. 329 

stem rehietaiiee with wliieli at last that body yielded to a 
230wei' wliicli mortals would in vain oppose, constituted 
the most sublime and impressive spectacle I ever beheld. 
May that power, which thus in a moment snatched him 
from among us, again restore him to his deserved pre- 
eminence. Brief indeed is the space allotted us, either 
for thought or action. But few years will have passed 
aw^ay and the seats we all now occupy will be tilled by 
other forms, as reckless, perhaps, and certainly as perish- 
able as our own. Those of us whose voices shall not have 
been stifled by faction, or by the just and enlightened de- 
cision of our country, will have fallen beneath a sterner 
and a surer blow than that which silenced the eloquence 
of Stanly. Here, then, while we stand "upon this bank 
and shoal of time," let us do that, which, in after years, 
shall show we did not live in vain. Let us leave to the 
future generations of our countrymen a lasting and con- 
soling evidence, that of the many hours of sin and tears, 
crowded into our mortal span, there was one in which Ave 
yielded to the suggestion of patriotism and virtue. For 
myself, if it were pardonable in me at this moment to 
indulge a selfish thouglit, I should say that if fame stood 
obedient to my will, with all her fools and monuments be- 
fore me, I would choose, as the safest and most sacred wouid rejoice to be 
repository that which should convey me to posterity, as eessfui advocate of 

1 1 T cii n 1 • ^^'* measure. 

the author and successful advocate of this measure. 
"But is too fond and far. 
These aspirations in their scope incline, 
Should dull oblivion bar. 

My name from out the temple, where the dead 
Are honored by the nations, let it be. 
And light the laurels on a loftier head ; 
And be the Spartan's epitaph on me, 
'Sparta hath many a worthier son than he.' " 

—The Star, Feb. 2S, 1827. 



9. DISCISSION OF THE x>IOKALITY OF LOTTERIES. 



Richmond acade- 
my in need of 
buildings which 
can not be pro- 
vided by private 
funds. 



Impossible to get 
an appropriation 
out of the public 
treasury. 



The bill autlioriziug the Trustees of the Kichmond 
Academy to raise by i^ottery, ten thousand dollars, was 
read the second time, and the question having been put 
on its passage — 

Mr. Leake, rose and said, that it would doubtless be 
recollected, by the greater part of the Senate, that when 
at the last session, he had the honor of introducing a sim- 
ilar bill to the one now under discussion, he had taken oc- 
casion to advert to the circumstances which had made it 
necessary for the Trustees of the Richmond Academy to 
apply to the Legislature, for that kinel of assistance con- 
templated in the bill. He had then mentioned, that a 
short time prior to that period, there were about 60 pupils 
in each department of the institution, but at that particu- 
lar juncture, the School was somewhat languishing for 
the want of buildings — not one being owned by the Trus- 
tees for the accommodation of the Females, and the one 
in use by the Males was in a state of dilapidation and 
nearly unfit for use. Having mentioned these facts for 
the purpose of shewing that the Richmond Academy was 
entitled to rank among the most respectable institutions 
of the State, but was about to pine away for want of 
houses, Mr. L. said he had frankly confessed, why the 
Trustees had not provided them. The reason was, they 
neither had, nor could they acquire funds sufficient for 
that purjDose, in any other way than by Lottery. Neither 
the Trustees of that nor of any other Academy, said Mr. 
L. would be willing, he knew to take out of their private 
pocket 8 or $10,000, and apply it to a purpose, not in- 
tended to bring them any pecuniary return or exclusive 
aelvantage, but designed wholly for public benefit. He 
also knew that the sum could not be raised by subscrip- 
tion in the neighborhood, and who did not know, that a 
donation out of the public Treasuiw, was a still more dif- 

330 



The Morality of Lotteries. 331 

iiciilt and improbable event. And hence it was he had 
ventured the prediction, that unless the bill passed, the re- 
turn of another session of the Legislature, would not tind 
that respectable School in its then prosperous condition. 
iBut, notwithstanding all that was said, his bill had failed 
— Gentlemen voted against it, either because they could 
not reconcile lotteries to their principles, or because they 
did not believe the School was in danger. If the former 
^vas the ground of their opposition, without wishing to dis- 
cuss the question wdiether lotteries were immoral, Mr. L. coui<i vote for a 

. . , school lottery with 

said, he would merely remark, that his principles were a goo(icon«-ienee. 
more pliable than theirs, inasmuch as he could vote for a 
lottery intended for some useful public purpose (to prop 
up a declining school for instance) with as much cheerful- 
ness, and as little reproach of conscience, as he could enter 
into a cotton or other speculation where there was a chance 
(as is always the case) of involving his family in ruin. 
But if gentlemen voted against it, because they believed 
that the school could get along without it, it was now his 
duty to inform them, and the Senate generally, that what 
he had feared, on a former occasion, had been too fully 
realized. That the entire female division of the school, 
consisting of some 50 or 60 young ladies, had been lost to 
the Trustees within a short time past, without as he 
feared, the possibility of being regained, except by the 
passage of the bill now under consideration. He hoped 
therefore, the bill would pass. 

Mr. Hill, of Franklin, was opposed to the bill, and his Mr. nm says most 

I, „,,.. ., -,, academies have 

opposition arose from one of the obiections, attributed bv met witii iii-ior- 

"^ tune. The promo- 

the gentleman last up, to the opponents of the measure. Jj^o"^*" ^•^^m by 
As regards the call made upon us for the support of the bill ^'^""•^ morality, 
on account of the languishing state of the institution for 
whose benefit it was intended, it is known to every person 
acquainted with the history of such institutions in this 
State, that they have all more or less, experienced the fa- 
talitv attendino- the Richmond Academv. However 



332 The Morality of Lotteries. 

anxious he might be for the cultivation of the human 
mind, and the general diffusion of the benefits of educa- 
tion, he could not agree to promote these desirable objects 
in this way. He was willing to do anything not contrary 
to the principles of sound morality, to disseminate useful 
learning, but he had yet to be convinced, that the utility 
of the end, sanctified the impurity of the means put in 
requisition for its attainment. He never would aid by 
his vote, any measure which savored of the damning in- 
fluence of gambling. He thought Lotteries were a species 
of gambling, and he thanked God he had never voted for 
of gambling^^^^^^ their encouragement. That Lotteries participated of the 
nature of this pernicious evil, he thought could be proved, 
could be conclusively established.— What, said Mr. H. are 
the characteristic features of gambling ? Is it not that we 
venture something for the sake of gaining more ? And 
of all kinds of hazard, that of adventuring in a lottery 
is the most fascinating. Indeed, it possesses such a 
charm, that he had known even pious men drawn without 
reflection into the snare, and who awoke from their dream 
of folly, to see in a proper light, on what slippery ground 
they stood. The poor were frequently influenced by the 
hope of gain, to vest their hard earnings in Tickets, which 
but too often resulted in the impoverishment of their fam- 
" ily and their own disgrace — Look around at the increase 
of the evil. Formerly it was but nominal — now, we can- 
not take up a country paper, but flaming lottery notices 
attract the attention. It w^as high time indeed to frown 
down this monstrous evil ; and if it cannot be entirely re- 
strained, let it not be encouraged by affording new facili- 
ties for its exercise. — Believing Lotteries to be as detri- 
mental to the morals of the community as cards, dice, or 
anything else, he could not ]iatronize them even to sub- 
serve the cause of literature, 
iwnx^iieve i!?uer- ^^^'- Pif'kc^^' entertained very different views on this 
vTeioulI;^'""^'^ subject, from the gentleman from Franklin. He seemed 



The Morality of Lotteries. 333 

to deprecate the passage of the bill, on account of the im- 
moral tendency of the principles which it involved — but as 
for himself he could not believe that Lotteries were in- 
herently vicious. What are we asked to do ? — to assist 
the Trustees of the Kichmond Academy, an institution 
which had done much good, in supporting their school, 
which, without our intervention, must fall to the ground. 
What other way is left but by Lottery, to obtain this as- 
sistance ; as the gentleman from Richmond has justly ob- 
served, we could not expect a donation from the Public 
Treasury. What, said Mr. P. do we come here for ? Is 
it not for the purpose of adopting measures to advance the 
character of the State and to improve the condition of the 
people ? And what measures so sure of those results, as 
those which foster and establish schools. Do not let us 
manifest by the rejection of this bill, that we place but 
little value on the benefits of education. It was known People win buy 

lottery tickets ; 

that our laws licensed the lottery system, and that in everv best tb keep the 

•J "J ' "J money at home by 

part of the State, individuals were engaged in vending [o^tg^ies"^ '"^^'^^ 
tickets in lotteries created for the benefit of other States. 
He could see no reason for Avithholding from the friends 
of literature the privilege of raising funds for purposes 
connected with the best interests of our citizens. It is 
certainly good policy to keep our money at home, for per- 
sons will venture, and if no opportunity exist at home, 
they will seek it elsewhere. He could not believe that the 
ruinous consequences would arise from Lotteries, which 
the gentleman from Franklin had imagined. From the 
first establishment of our government, acts have been 
passed, autliorizing Lotteries. The practice was not con- 
fined to our own State, but had been sanctioned, he be- 
lieved, by every member of the Union. Is it possible that 
they would have been countenanced so long, if they were 
productive of the great evils which had been attributed to 
them ? He should think not. He concluded by saying, 
that he should always feel bound to vote for similar meas- 
ures, where their aim was the public good. 



334 The Mok^vlity of Lotteries, 

Mr. Hill cites one Mr. Hill made a few observations in reply to Mr. Pick- 
instance of lottery ^ '' 

^^^^^^- ett. That Gentleman, said Mr. H. had remarked, that 

he never knew any fraud committed in these lotteries, nor 
did he believe they would arise. He could call his atten- 
tion to many instances, he would mention one, that of 
Jonas Frost, of Smithfield, who, perhaps, had managed 
his lottery as judiciously as any one ever did, for after 
selling all the tickets, he pocketed the money and de- 
camped without drawing it. It was not unusual for 
these lottery holders to make their jack at one stroke, as 
Jonas Frost did. Suppose, said Mr. H. we should au- 
thorize a lottery for any purpose, and the individuals to 
whom it is granted, after selling the tickets should refuse 
to draw it, what claim have we upon them. He had no ill 
will against the Richmond Academy — he wished there 
were flourishing institutions in every county of the State 
— for indeed, the diffusions of the blessings of education 
would be the best antidote to this gambling spirit which 
pervades the community. But if we authorize one county 
to draw a lottery what will be the consequence ? Every 
county in the State, has an equal claim upon us, and they 
will want a similar privilege, and if we grant the boon to 
all it would be without value to any. He therefore 
doubted the propriety of the measure, as well on the score 
of policy as morality. 

Mr. Seawell said, the object of this bill was to raise 
a sum of money, for the purpose of putting an Academy 
into operation, for the diffusion of learning ; and this could 
not be done without receiving aid from other sources than 

Theeviiofiotter- were iu the reach of the Institution. If he understood the 

les does not out- 
weigh the good, matter, the rejection of the bill was contended for, on the 

ground of immorality and impolicy of the measure. He 
thought a fair statement of the case was this — is the evil 
whieli would result from the passage of this bill of suffi- 
cient magnitude to counterbalance the good which would 
flow from the successful operation of the Academy in 



The Morality of Lotteries. 335 

question. It had been admitted by the gentleman from 
Franklin, that the best antidote to this gambling spirit 
would be found in the propagation of Seminaries of 
learning. If the situation of the country would warrant 
the establishment of schools in every county at the public 
expense, there would be no necessity for resorting to this 
mode of rearing Academies; but are gentlemen prepared 
to vote for such a law or in our present embarrassed af- 
fairs, could the people spare the money necessary to carry 
the law into effect ? How will this bill operate ? Doe? 
it put the hand of the collector into the pocket of any one? 
No, like all other speculations it holds out a prospect to 
adventurers, to gain a large sum by risking a small one. 
Gentlemen talking about restraining the people from in- Gambling can not 
dulging a gambling propensity. It cannot be done ; if it law. 
be attempted, the only effect will be a change from better 
to worse for they will carry it on in secret — it cannot be 
checked by prohibitory enactments; for it is inherent in 
the nature of man. If a man buys a land warrant, is it 
his intention to emigrate where the land is located ? ISTo ; 
nine times out of ten he buys on speculation, and the 
principal portion of the transactions of the world are un- 
dertaken for purposes of speculation, and they originate 
in the same spirit, which influences the adventurer in a 
lottery — it is all hazard. Everybody acts on the jorinci- 
ple of gain; we are then, strictly speaking, all adventurers. 
•The merchant who buys $10,000 worth of goods in ISTew insurance compa- 

-rr 1 1 • , 1 • n • 1 • j_ 1 • iiies compared 

lork ana insures their sale arrival m port by paying a with lotteries. 
premium, does to all intents and purposes run a risque 
which constitutes the essence of a lottery. Does the In- 
surer establish his office, to protect commerce — no, to 
enrich himself. But the Trustees in this instance do not 
wish to put money into their pockets — no, they desire to 
advance the liappiness of mankind in general, by enlight- 
ening its members. If this bill passes, so far from en- 
couraging vicious propensities, it will give birth to hos- 



336 The Morality of Lotteries. 

tility of sentiment as regards gambling by annually turn- 
ing out a large number of well educated youth. Will not 
this be an ample requital to those individuals who shall 
New York obtained p^y a few dollars f or a ticket 'i The great state of New 

niouey lor internal J- -' o 

lotteries"^'^^"^^ ^^ York derived her funds for carrying on her mighty sys- 
tem of Internal Improvements from lotteries. But were 
her farmers bowed down and impoverished ? No, quite 
the reverse — the lotteries are supported not by them, but 
by those gentry who if they did not risque their money 
in this way would perhaps make a more unprofitable use 
of it. He hoped the bill would pass. 

Mr. Leak resents Mr. Leake felt thankful for the able assistance rendered 

remarks of Mr. Hill. 

him, which perhaps made it unnecessai*y for him to say 
anything more on the subject; but he begged the indul- 
gence of the Senate for a few moments. The gentleman 
from Franklin, in the remarks which he made, referred to 
some manager of a lottery, who, after selling his tickets, 
"decamped'' with the money. If he intended to insinuate 
by this observation, that there was any probability of an- 
other decampment, he must say that the allegation was as 
unworthy of himself as unjust towards the Trustees of 
the Richmond Academy. 

(Here the Speaker informed Mr. Leake that his re- 
marks were of a personal nature, and could not be al- 
lowed. ) 

Mr. Hill asked leave to explain, and disclaimed having 
any allusion to the Trustees of that Academy. 

Mr. Leake resumed. He had expected opposition from 
the gentleman from Franklin. He had heard him more 
than once denounce, not only this, but all bills of a similar 
nature, and therefore was not startled when he saw^ him 
rise. — But why was the gentleman so hostile to lotteries ? 
because they are games of chance and therefore immoral. 
Games of chance Tliat they Avere games of chance, he did not deny, but 
'™ ^ ■ that this necessarily constituted them immoral, was a con- 

clusion to which he could not subscribe. It was a con- 
clusion Avhicli brandcMl as immoral the various vocations 



The Morality of Lotteries. 337 

of agriculture, commerce and manufactures, for there is 
certainly risk, when the husbandman sows his seed, when 
the merchant adventures his stock in trade. Upon this 
branch of the subject Mr. L. begged leave to read a part 
of an able report made to the Virginia Legislature at its v^rgmm report on 
last session on the subject of lotteries. (Here he I'ead ^his^iottery for a 
an extract.) He then went on to say, that the individual 
who, after reading that report, could still maintain that 
there was not an essential dili'erence, in point of vice, be- 
tween lotteries and the common modes of gambling, was 
able to resist arguments which he could not. If lotteries 
were not immoral, then it was expedient to pass the bill 
now before the Senate. Its object is to establish schools 
from whence proceed the main pillars of our republic, 
virtue and knowledge, the source of individual respecta- 
bility and happiness, and without which we may toil in 
vain to effect or render popular those mighty schemes of 
Internal Improvement which ennoble States and enrich 
individuals. 

Mr. Joyner made a few remarks against the bill on the joyner opposes 

•^ 1 T 1 J' ^^^^^ °^^ moral 

score of its immoral tendency, and the establishment of a grounds. 
bad precedent. He moved that on the passage of the bill, 
the Yeas and ISTays should be called. 

The question on the passage of the bill at its second 
reading having been stated, 

Mr. Leake rose to inquire whether his being a Trustee 
of the Institution, for whose benefit the lottery was in- 
tended, vested in him such an interest, as would render it 
improper for him to vote on the question. 

The Speaker thought it did not. 

The Yeas and N^ays were then called and were as fol- 
lows : 

Yeas. — Messrs. Alexander, Baird, of Burke, Bullock, Yea and nay vote. 
Burney, Blackwell, Beard, of Rowan, Beasley, Deberry, 
Elliott, Forman, Forney, Gray, Gilchrist, Hollomon, Hill., 
of Stokes, Hawkins, King, Locke, Leak, Love, McMillan, 

22 



338 The JVIoeality of Lotteries. 

McKay, Miller, Matthews, Pickett, Eiddick, Eoberts, 
Sj^aight, of Craven, Smith, Speight, of Greene, Sharpe, 
Seawell, Stokes, Tyson, Vanhook, Williams, of Martin 
and Ward.— 37. 

ISTays. — Messrs. Boddie, Bell, Croom, Devane, Daven- 
port, Gilliam, Hill, of Franklin, Hunter, Joyner, Mc- 
Dowell,. Marsh, McDaniel, McLeary, Parker, Salyear, 
Sanders, Shewford, Sellers, Williams, of Beaufort, Wil- 
son, of Camden, Wilson, of Edgecombe and Wasden. — 22. 

So the bill passed its second reading, and was then or- 
dered to be read the third time. Mr. Hill, of Franklin, 
made an unsuccessful effort to lay it on the table. It 
passed its third reading and was ordered to be engrossed. 

• — Raleigh Begister, Jan. 5, 1827. 



10. FAILIBE OF BILL TO ENCOURAGE SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

Monday Feb. 5, 1827. — Mr. King^ presented a bill for 
the encouragement of Sunday Schools ; which was read the 
first time and passed. 

— Senate Journal, 1826-27, p. 86. 

Feb. Y, 1827. — The bill for the encouragement of Sun- introduction of the 

T r^ 1 1 1 • 1 ■ e '^'" "^ ^^^ Senate. 

day Schools was read the second time, and, on motion oi 
Mr. Speight', of Greene, the same was indefinitely post- 
poned. 

— Senate Journal 1826-27, p. 92. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
Korth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same; that from and after the passing of this Act, 
the Treasurer of the State shall be authorized to pay the 
following sums respectively. — 

And be it further enacted, that wherever there shall be Twenty-five cents 

^ ., ^ . appropriated for 

a Sunday School established m any one or more Counties each poor child in 

•^ "^ Sunday Schools, to 

of this State, the obiect of which is to instruct poor and tiiiytoooks to teach 

•' "^ ^ reading and 

indigent children in the art of reading and writing, the writing. 
Treasurer is hereby authorized that when a certificate 
shall be presented under the signature of such school or 
schools, and signed by two respectable freeholders of such 
County to pay the sum of twenty five cents, for every 
child or indigent person, that they may certify as regular 
scholars of such institutions, out of the funds that are set 
apart for education ; any law to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing. 

The following entries by the clerk of the Senate are to 
be found on the above bill : 



^Samuel King, Iredell. 
^ Jesse Speight. 



339 



340 Failure to Encourage Sunday Schools. 

In the Senate Feb. 5th, 1827, read the first time and 
passed. 

In the Senate Feb. 7th, 1827, read and on motion of 

Bill fails. -iiroi-i f /--t • T n • ^ i 

Mr. Speight, oi G-reene, mdehnitelj postponed. 

— From Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1826-27. 



11. FAILURE OF ATTEMPT TO INCREASE LITERARY FUND. 

Thursday, Feb. 1, 1827. — Mr. McKay, from the com- bhi introduced, 
mittee on Education, reported a bill to transfer the stock 
owned by the State in the Banks of Newbern and Cape 
Fear, and purchased since 1821, to the President and 
Directors of the Literary Fund, which was read the first 
time and passed. 

— Senate Journal, 1826-27, p. 75. 

Friday, Feb. 9, 1827. — The bilP to transfer the stock Yeas and nays. 
owned by the State in the Banks of ISTewbern and Cape 
Fear, and purchased since 1821, to the President and 
Directors of the Literary Fund, was read the second time, 
and on motion of Mr. Hill, of Stokes, was indefinitely 
postponed. The yeas and nays on this question being 
demanded by Mr. Hill, of Stokes, are as follows : 

For the indefinite postponement, are Messrs. Lawson 
H. Alexander, Cabarrus ; Wm. W. Boddie, I^Tash ; Thomas 
Blackwell, Pockingham ; John B. Beasley, Tyrrell ; 
Samuel Davenport, Washington ; Edmund Deberry, Mont- 
gomery; Alexander Elliott, Cumberland; Benjamin Fore- 
man, Hyde ; Wm. Gilliam, Bertie ; Alexander Gray, Ran- 
dolph ; John Gilchrist, Robeson; Charles A. Hill, .Frank- 
lin ; Edward R. Hunter, Gates ; John Hill, Stokes ; Mica- 
"jah T. Hawkins, Warren; John Joyner, Pitt; Benj. R. 
Lock, Brunswick ; Thomas Love, Haywood ; Alex. B. Mc- 
Millan, Ashe; Athan A. McDowell, Buncombe; Robert 
Marsh, Chatham ; Stephen Miller, Duplin ; Isham 
Mathpws, Halifax; Michael McLeary, Mecklenburg; Wm. 
Montgomery, Orange; Joseph Pickett, Anson; Jonathan 
Parker, Guilford ; Willis Riddick, Perquimans ; Pleasant 

^The Raleigh Register of Feb. 13, 1827, says that Messrs. Hill, of 
Stokes, Hill, of Franklin, and Seawell opposed the bill on the floor, 
while Messrs. Sneed and McKay advocated it. 

341 



342 Failuee to Increase Literary Fund. 

B. Roberts, Surry ; Eicliard D. Spaight, Craven ; Samuel 
Salyear, Currituck; John M. Smith, Davidson; Jesse 
Speight, Greene ; Elisha H. Sharpe, Hertford ; Eeuben 
Sanders, Johnston ; John Sellers, Sampson ; Henry Sea- 
well, Wake; Josiah Tyson, Moore; Robert Vanhook, Per- 
son; J. O. K. Williams, Beaufort; Willis Wilson, Cam- 
den; Louis D. Wilson, Edgecombe; Joseph J. Williams, 
Martin ; John Wasden, Wayne ; Edward Ward, Onslow — 
yeas 45. 

Against the indefinite postponement of the bill, are 
Messrs. Matthew Baird, Burke; Whittington Davis, Car- 
teret ; Samuel King, Iredell ; James J. McKay, Bladen ; 
Wm. M. Sneed, Granville; Martin Shuford, Rutherford; 
Montfort Stokes, Wilkes — l^ays 7. 

—Senate Journal 1826-27, p. 101. 



12. FAILURE OF STATISTICAL INFOKMATION BILL. 

Friday, Feb. 2, 1827. — Mr. Scott^ with leave, pre- Bin introduced, 
sented a bill to appoint a commissioner to collect statistical 
information relative to this State, and to prescribe the 
duties of said commissioner. The said l)ill was read the 
first time and passed. 

— House Journal, 1826-27, p. 203. 

Monday, Feb, 5, 1827. — The bill to appoint a commis- Failure on second 
sioner to collect statistical information relative to this 
State, and to prescribe the duties of said commissioner, 
was read the second time, and, on motion of Mr. Boon^. 
postponed indefinitely. 

—House Journal 1S26-27, ^j. 209. 



'John Scott, Hillsborough. 
^ John Boon, Orange. 



343 



13. FAILURE OF BILL TO PROHIBIT TEACHING COLORED 
APPRENTICES. 

Bill introduced. Friday, Feb. 2, 1827. — Mr. King', with leave, present- 

ed a bill to repeal so mucli of the act, passed in 1762, as 
requires the master or mistress to teach or cause to be 
taught coloured apprentices to read and write. The said 
bill was read the first time and passed. 

— House Journal, 1826-27, p. 202. 
Failure on second Saturday, Feb. 3, 1827. — The bill to repeal so much of 

reading. 

an act, passed in 1762, as requires the master or mistress 
to teach, or cause to be taught colored apprentices to read 
and write, was read, and, on motion, postponed indefi- 
nitely, 

— House Journal, 1826-27, p. 207. 

The bill in full. A Bill to repeal so much of an Act passed in 1762 as 

requires the Master or Mistress to teach or cause to be 
taught coloured apprentices to read and write. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State 
of North Carolina and it is hereby enacted by tlie au- 
thority of the same, that the Master or Mistress of a col- 
oured apprentice shall not hereafter be required to teach 
or cause to be taught his or her coloured apprentice to read 
and write, any law to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Clerk's entries. In House of Commons 2 Feb. 1827, read the first time 

and passed. 

In House of Commons 3 Feb. 1827 — read the Second 
Time and postponed indefinitely. 

— From Unpuhlished Legislative Becords, 1826-27. 



Joel King, Franklin. 

344 



14. ORGANIZATION OF LITERARY BOARD. 

Executive Office, Raleigh, 

16th Jany, 1827. 
At the above place and time, the first meeting: of the First organization 

■■- ^ '^ ot the Literary 

"President and Directors of the Literary Fund" was hekl : Bo^rd^ij report ''''^ 
There were present the following gentlemen, 

The President, H. G. Burton, Govr. 

Chief Justice J, L. Taylor, 

B, Yancey & Jno. Haywood, Esqrs. 

On motion, Jno. K. Campbell was appointed Secty. 

On motion, B. Yancey Esqr. was directed to draft a re- 
port to be presented to the Legislature, in pursuance of 
the Act of 1825. 

Resolved that a warrant be drawn upon the Treasurer 
for the purchase of a book, in which a journal of the pro- 
ceedings shall be kept. 

The Board then adjourned. 

— From MS. Becords of Literary Board. 



345 



15. FIKST REPORT OF LITERARY BOARD TO LEGISLA- 
TURE, 1826-27. 



Mr. Yancey sub- 
mits report. 



Receipts for the 
year. 



Executive Office^ 

1st Feby, 1827. 

The Board met pursuant to adjournment, present, 

The President and all the members. 

Mr. Bartlett Yancey submitted the following report : 

Report of the President and Directors of the Literary 
Fund. In obedience to an act of the Legislature, passed 
at its last session, requiring the President and Directors 
of the Literary Fund of this State, "to make an annual 
report of all such sums of money as may belong to the 
said fund, with such recommendations for the impTOve- 
ments of the same, as to them may seem exjDedient," we 
have the honour to submit to the Legislature the following 
report : 

From the appropriation made at the last session, the fol- 
lowing sums of money have been received by the Public 
Treasurer, and pursuant to the act, the Board have caused 
a regular account of the same to be stated by the Treas- 
urer. 

1. Dividends from the Bank of Cape Fear. .$ 1,956. 

2. Dividends from tlie Bank of ISTew'bern. . . . 884. 

3. Tax on licenses »fc retailers from Sheriffs & 

Clerks 4,109.84 

4. Do. imposed on Auctioners 741.04 

5. Entry money for vacant lands 4,614.07^ 

Making in amount of receipts ]>revious to the 

1st day of ^^ovr. 1826 $12,304,951 

Since which time a further sum has been re- 
ceived from the Cape Fear Iv^avigation Com- 
pany amounting to 420.00 

;Making the actual receipts up to this time, of $12,724.95| 

346 



FiKST Report LiTEit^iRY Board. 347 

Of this sum no part lias yet been vested in stock, as 
directed by the Act creating the Literary Fund, but it will 
be so vested so soon as the President and Directors shall 
ascertain, satisfactorily, the kind of stock it may be pru- 
dent and proper to purchase. 

From the appropriation of $21,090, which was paid by Application made 

for the pavment of 

this State to certain Cherokee Indians for reservations se- tiie Cherokee fund 

to the Board. 

cured to them by Treaty made by the United States, and 
for wdiich this State has a fair claim iijion the Equity and 
justice of the government of the United States, no part has 
been received, and the Board recommend to the Legisla- 
ture to make another application to Congress for the same. 

The Swamp and Marsh lands of this State which are j^^^'^g^^fj.^'S'.' 
vacant, having been pledged for the support of Common jfevoted whoiiy^to 
Schools, it might seem unnecessary to make further provi- •-' '^''''^ '°°- 
sion by law, prohibiting their entry, under the entry laws 
of the State. The Legislature, however, at its last session, 
deemed it expedient to pass an act forbidding its entry: 
but this act is limited, in its duration to the 1st day of 
Feby. 182Y. To remove all doubt on this question, and 
to prevent litigation hereafter, it is respectfully recom- 
mended that the swamp and marsh lands of this State shall 
not hereafter be entered by any person as vacant land, but 
that the same shall be applied to the purposes of public 
education as heretofore directed. The value of Swamp 
land in this state is becoming more important every year, 
and though the Board have no accurate information upon 
which to form an opinion of the quantity now owned by 
the State, yet they have good reason to believe it is con- 
siderable ; and if it shall hereafter be managed with cau- 
tion and prudence will constitute a valuable portion of the 
Literary Fund. Experiments which have been made by 
individuals, in a few years past, show that most of it is 
susceptible of becoming the most fertile and valuable land 
in the State for grain, and no doubt remains that most of 
it may be drained by reasonable expense or labour. 



348 FiKST Report Litekaey Boaed. 

owfe'dS'the stite ^^ ^'^^' ^^ ^^^^ Board has been able to obtain information 
shOTid'beasctr- ^^ ^^^^^ subject, the great difficulty in reclaiming this land, 
*^^°^ ■ by the State, is, that a large portion of it is owned by 

persons who have entered it upon speculation, under ths 
belief that at some future time it would be drained and 
become valuable. The proportion which is owned by indi- 
viduals and the State, can only be ascertained by survey 
or examination, and preparatory to any plan for draining 
the same, it would seem expedient that these respective pro- 
portions should be known. 

It is believed, when the information shall be received, 
inducements can be offered by the State, which will make 
the interests of persons owning lands of this description, 
adjoining lands belonging to the State, to afford their co- 
operation in so desirable a work. 
rfckfmecL^* *° "^"^ Independent of the interest the State must take in ad- 
vancing the value of its domain, other considerations of 
higher character and more importance enter into the sub- 
ject. — These lands at present are unproductive and the 
direct cause of pestilence and disease to all the inhabitants 
in their vicinity. Should they, under the auspices of a 
wise and benevolent policy, become drained, the lands will 
be fertile and productive, the country will become healthy 
and inhabited by a dense, enterprising and industrious 
population, contributing to the annual growth and pride 
of the State. 
Recommendations. Jt is, therefore, rcspcctfully recommended, that the 
Board of Internal Improvement be instructed to cause a 
survey and examination of such portion of swamp lands 
as they may find convenient the ensuing year ; and that in 
the survey and examination they ascertain, as near as prao 
ticable, the portions of such land owned by individuals and 
the State, and the comparative value of each & report the 
same to the next legislature. 
The moral duty of The establishment of schools in which shall be taught 

the government to , , . - . . . ^' 

establish schooi>i. ihe rudimciits of a common iilaiu education, is a moral 



First Report Literary Board. 349 

duty imposed upon all government. In a government like 
ours vi^here the right of suffrage is general, with but few 
exceptions, it is essentially important to the preservation 
of public liberty: in the business & intercourse of society, 
it is necessary to protect the poor & ignorant from the de- 
ceits & wrongs of the cunning and unjust ; and in the exer- 
cise of the right of suffrage, it is proper, that the citizen 
may read & think for himself, and, above all, it is essential 
to teach man his duty in this life & the high destiny which 
awaits him hereafter. 

In this as well as every other branch of public instruc- 
tion or improvement, it is important to make a good be- 
ginning. We should build the Literary Fund, intended 
as the basis of Public instruction, upon a good foundation. 
This can only be done by creating a fund of respectable 
amount, & vesting it all in an annual p'roductive stock, re- 
lying on the interest to defray the annual expenses of the 
Schools. It is fortunate for our State that she has so 
managed her finances for a few years past, that she has it 
now completely in her power to set apart a portion of her 
funds to the aid of common schools, which may bring them 
into operation in two or three years, without disturbing the 
principal of the sum which may be pledged for that pur- 
pose. The State owns, at this time. 

In the State Bank of ISTo. Ca. 2762 shares of the statement of the 

stocks owned by 

value of $276,200 the state in various 

companies. 

In the Bank of ^ewbern 1663 shares value of . . . 166,300 
In the Bank of Cape Fear 2057 shares value of. . 205,700 
Of this stock the dividends arising from that in the State 
Bank, are now applied to the ordinary expenses of the gov- 
ernment, & those arising on the stock held in the Newbern 
Bank & Bank of Cape Fear, previous to 1821, have been 
set apart and are now applied to the purpose of Internal 
Improvement, & consist of 



350 



First Eepokt Literaey Board. 



In the Bank of Newbern 1304 shares, of the 

value of $130,400 

In the Bank of Cape Fear 1358 shares, of the 

value of 135,800 

The dividends on the remaining stock in the Bank of 

J^ewbern & Cape Fear are pledged to the purposes of the 

Literary Fund & Consist of 

In the Bank of JSTewbern 359 shares, of the 

value of $35,900 

In the Banlv of Cape Fear 699 shares, of the 

value of 09,900 

stocks recommend- It is respectfullv recommended, that the stock now 

ed to be transferred '- ^ 

^o^^^e Literary owned by the State and purchased since 1821, and that 
which may hereafter be acquired in the Banks of ISTew- 
bern & Cape Fear, be transferred to the President & Di- 
rectors of the Literary Fund, for the benefit of common 
schools. 

This suggestion for the improvement of the fund for 
common schools has not been made without due regard to 
the revenue of the State, and its ordinary disbursements, & 
no doubt is entertained but the stock may be appropriated 
as recommended, without injury to either. The Board, are 
aware, that it may be desirable hereafter, upon the expira- 
tion of the charters of the present banks, either in extend- 
ing those charters for a longer time, or in establishing a 
new Bank, that the State should become a stockholder to 
the amount of the stock it may then own in the present 
banks; & they are fully impressed with the opinion, that 
a proper & judicious management of the public finances 
would require such a measure. The recommendation now 
submitted by them, is not at all in conflict with such a 
course. It will still be the property of the State, & sub- 
ject to its direction & control ; & it will be competent for 
the State, either in a renewal of the charters of the 
present banks, or in the creation of a new Bank, to secure 
to the President & Directors of the Literarv Fund the right 



Such a course is 
wise. 



FiKST Kepoet Litekary Board. 351 

of subscribing to the capital stock of the Bank any sum 
whicli the Legislature may tliiuk proper, & no doubt can 
be entertained but that this woidd be done. 

The benelit to be derived from an appropriation of the state could soon 

, . - . , . - 1 T ■ 1 establish schools, 

Stock to the Literary Lund, is, that it would establish, at n the fund is thus 

increased. 

once, a permanent certain fund, upon which the State 
could rely, to carry into operation the system of schools in 
a short time. The annual interest to be derived from it, 
would be certain in amount, & after the system shall have 
commenced with such a fund, no reasonable fears could be 
entertained of their discontinuance. It would give confi- 
dence to the plan and inspire the whole community with 
a hope of its speedy commencement. It is hoped there 
are no grounds to believe the fund would not be prudently 
and faithfully managed. The President and Directors of 
the Fund are all amenable to the Legislature, & most of 
them can be removed at their pleasure. In common with 
their fellow citizens, they take and feel a deep interest in 
the prosperity of the institution committed to their care, 
and no doubt the State will, at all times, command their 
best efforts in its promotion. 

We have the honor to be very respectfully, 

(Signed) H. G. Burton, Brest. 

Jno. L. Taylor, 

B. Yancey, 

James Iredell, 

Jno. Haywood. 

Having agreed to and signed this report, the Board then 
adjourned. 

— From MS. Records of Literary Board. 



16. LOTTERIES FOR ACADEMIES REFUSED. 

The bill in favor j^ giU authorizing the Trustees of Richmond Academy 

of Richmond o ..' 

Academy. ^^ raise the sum of ten thousand dollars by lottery. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
i^^orth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, 

That the Trustees of the Richmond Academy be, and 
they are hereby authorized to raise by way of lottery the 
sum of ten thousand dollars for the erection of two acade- 
mies, male and female, the purchase of books, and for other 
purposes connected with the welfare of their institution. 

In Senate Jan. 3, 1827 : Engrossed and examined. 
Fails in the House. j^ House of Commous Jan. 3, 1827: Read the first 
time and passed. 

In House of Commons Jan. 4, 1827 : Read the second 
time and rejected. 

In House of Commons Jan. 5, 1827 : Reconsidered 
and again rejected. 

The bill in favor -^ Bill to authorize the Trustees of Spring Grove Acad- 
Academy. ^™^^ emy in Anson County to raise the sum of five thousand 
dollars by way of Lottery. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
J^orth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That the Trustees of Spring Grove Academy 
in the County of Anson, be and they are hereby authorized 
and empowered to raise by way of lottery the sum of five 
thousand dollars to be appropriated and applied to the ben- 
efit of the said institution in such manner as the said 
Trustees or a majority of them may direct, and that the 
Trustees of said academy shall select from among them- 
selves three proper persons whose duty it shall be to con- 
duct and strictly attend to the drawing of said lottery. 
Engrossed and examined. 

^ See debate on morality of lotteries on previous pages. This de- 
bate was instigated in the Senate by the Richmond Academy bill. 

352 



LoTTEKiES Refused. 353 

In Senate January 5tli, 1827: Read tlie first time and Failure in the 

1 Senate. 

passed. 

In Senate Jan. 5, 1827: Read and ordered to be laid 
on the table. 

In Senate Jan. 30, 1827: Read the second time and 
ordered that the Bill do not pass. 



23 



18^7 

1. PROCEEDINGS LITERARY BOARD. 

2. "UPTON" ON EDUCATION. 

3. CAUSES OF EMIGRATION. 

4. GOV. BURTON'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

5. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

6. LEGISLATIVE INQUIRY INTO CONDITION OF LITERARY FUND. 

7. SMITH'S BILL TO REPEAL LITERARY FUND LAW 1825. 

8. DRAKE'S BILL TO REPEAL LITERARY FUND LAW 1825. 

9. LITERARY FUND CLERK BILL REJECTED. 

10. REPORT ON LITERARY FUND REPEAL BILL 

11. DEAF AND DUMB INSTITUTION INCORPORATED. 

12. SECOND REPORT LITERARY BOARD. 

13. EDITORIAL COMMENT ON REPORT OF LITERARY BOARD. 

14. SPIRIT OF ECONOMY AND INDIVIDUALISM. 



354 



1. PROCEEDINGS LITERARY BOARD. 

Executive Office, 
11th Febj, 1827. 
The Board met, on this day, certain stock to 

. be bought. 

Present, the President and all the members. 

It was Resolved, That the Treasurer be authorized to 
purchase stock of the State Bank, at a rate not exceeding 
par, & stock of the Banks of Newbern and Cape Fear, at a 
rate not above $85. 

It was directed by the Board that letters should be di- 
rected to the principal Brokers in the United States, on 
the subject of purchasing the privilege granted to the 
Board of raising Fifty thousand dollars by lottery. 

The Board then adjourned. 

— From MS. Records Literary Board. 



355 



2. " UPTON " ON EDUCATION. 

The followiug Extract is from a communication, which 
recently appeared under the signature of Upton, in the 
Fayetteville Observer: 

be found ^infhr^'* Virtue will ahvajs be found in the train of education. 

tram of education. ^Yj^hout it, a republican form of government can not be 
supported — it cannot long exist. Virtue and patriotism 
make us a nation, have hitherto preserved us, and are 
essential both in our national councils and among the peo- 
ple. The fate of some republics should admonish us, that 
though our liberty is sure, and our Constitution immov- 
able, still the jDurest liberty may be contaminated and de- 
stroyed by vice, the firmest Constitution be overthrown by 
faction. When the largest proportion of a nation is ig- 
norant and vicious, the government must cease to exist; 
the laws cannot be executed where every man has a per- 
sonal interest in screening and protecting the profligate 
and abandoned. Where these are unrestrained by the 
wholesome coercion of authority, they give way to every 
species of excess and crime ; one enoTmity brings on an- 
other, until the whole community becoming corrupt, bursts 
forth into some mighty change, or sinks at once into anni- 
liihition. It would be an easy task to show, that in pro- 
portion as every country has been enlightened by educa- 
tion, so has been its prosperity; that the moral and social 
virtues cannot flourish where gross ignorance prevails — for 
without knowledge the heart cannot be good ; — but where 
the heads and hearts of men are generally improved and 
cultivated, wisdom and virtue must reign, and vice and 
ignorance must cease to prevaik Virtue and wisdom are 
the parents of public and private felicity; vice and igno- 
rance of public and private misery. A comparison of the 
savage that roams through the forest with the enlightened 
iuliabitants of a civilized country, is a brief but impres- 
sive representation of the momentous importance of edu- 

356 



Upto.x oiv Education. 357 

cation. If we regard the want of general knowledge as 
connectetl with the cause of religion and morality, its 
aspect is awfully solemn ; but the other view of it, already 
alluded to, is sufficient to excite the keenest solicitude of 
the legislative body. If, then, the preservation of our ,^"';|t\':iy''M?mK4ted 
unrivalled Constitution depends upon tlie intelligence and oVoun«7iiii'(-id*^"^" 
virtue of the ptople, how is it that North-Carolina has 
been so remiss in fortifying her part of the national edi- 
fice 'i The people of this State, with great j)ropriety, have 
made it the ex^^ress duty of the Legislature to encourage 
and promote useful learning, to establish schools for the 
convenient instruction of youth. — Where, then, are our 
Schools ? establishments so intimately connected with the 
permanent prosperity of our political institutions as well 
as the local improvement of the State. Why has the gen- Jf^^^f ^JJj'JJJ'e^tTy^ 
eral establishment of schools expressly directed by our "egiected. 
Constitution been neglected so long ? or, if not totally neg- 
lected, impeded in its operation by appropriations totally 
inadequate to the object ? In most of the other States 
measures are adopted and funds provided commensurate 
with the importance of the subject, and education is uni- 
versally diffused; while in 'N. Carolina (I speak it with 
shame) the same chilling and sluggish apathy that pene- 
trates into and pervades all our public measures for im- 
provement, is visible in the establishment of our public 
schools, a subject of the most imposing consideration. 
While other States are advancing rapidly in knowledge bSl^totes^ulf ' 
and wealth, their prosperity, to the most superficial ob- ]fnowi"dge.°* 
server of our peculiar political Constitution, is owing 
chiefly to the general diffusion of knowledge. In this 
State, genius and talents, instead of being nurtured with 
the refreshing dew of patronage, are allowed to wither in 
the frost of neglect. Our jihysical, moral and intellectual 
powers have never been unfolded, and never will be, until 
the people are redeemed by education from the state of 
ignorance to which they have been doomed by our penny- 



358 



Upton on Education. 



Peni'V-saving 
Lejjisliitors have 
(loomed the people 
to ignorance. 



Educational condi- 
tions can only be 
remedied by public 
schools supported 
by the State. 



Results to come 
from the estab- 
lishment of the 
schools. 



saving Legislators. All the drawbacks of tliis State may 
be traced to this muddy source — want of general knowl- 
edge. Every weight that impedes her equal march with 
her sisters, results from the ignorance of the common peo- 
ple — common in their present degraded state, but, when 
loosened from the bonds of ignorance, they will constitute 
the pride and support, as they are now the "bone and 
sinew" of the country. All the inconveniences we labor 
under can only be remedied by enlightening the people, 
and this by the establishment of Public Schools under the 
patronage of the State. A subject of more importance 
never will be presented to the Legislature, and the call is 
loud upon all good and patriotic citizens. Let there be a 
union of all heads for the good of the State ; let the peo- 
ple instruct their Representatives to inquire into the pres- 
ent state of the School Fund, and, if not adequate, extend 
it; let the appropriation be such as to carry the establish- 
ment of Schools into immediate execution ; let them devisd 
and support the best plan to disseminate learning through- 
out the State ; all other methods are partial in their opera- 
tion, circumscribed in their effects, and dependent on con- 
tingencies for their commencement. — But by this expedi- 
ent, and the Schools being spread throughout the State, 
and aided by its bounty, will carry improvement within 
the reach of every citizen. If the people generally are 
instructed in those branches of education which are indis- 
pensably necessary to every person in his intercourse with 
the world, and to the performance of his duties as a useful 
citizen, they will then be better acquainted with our politi- 
cal Constitution and laws, better enabled to decide on those 
great political questions which ultimately are referred to 
the people; their minds will be developed, their affections 
purified, their manners softened, their views exalted, and 
better fitted for those hi2,h destinies which their Creator 
has prepared for them. When the moral and intellectual 
faculties of the people are improved, our Legislature will 



Upton on Education. 359 

be more enlightened, the clouds of local prejudice whicli 
surround us will be removed, we will understand O'ur re- 
sources and advantages, and know how to improve and 
defend them; we will afford efficient and ample support 
to proper plans for internal improvement, operating with 
equal advantage to all, without the imputation of local 
partiality, and so regulate them as to obviate individual 
and local discontent. The character of the State will be 
properly represented in Congress, and Southern interest? 
defended. We will take our station as a constituent por- 
tion of the nation and our rights will be protected. 

—Baleigh Register, Oct. 26, 1827. 



3. CAUSES OF EMIGRATIOjN. 

Lack of facilities In the Begister of the 27th of June, above the signature 

to market produce ,..,,-r,. , t^- 

one cause wiiy pco- ol "A JNorth Caroliuian, i discovered an essay on Jimi- 

ple leave the State. _ _ _ _ . 

gration, in which the writer attributes to idleness and dis- 
sipation, that poverty and want which is the cause of emi- 
gration. In many instances, doubtless this is the case, 
yet a far greater stimulus is given to the tide of emigra- 
tion from a very different source, viz, the misguided polic\ 
of our Legislatures, and consequently that of perhaps a 
very small majority of the sovereign people. Our internal 
resources are great, and might be much greater, were our 
country more densely settled by an industrious yeomanry. 
And could we have an outlet for our produce, both vege- 
table and mineral, we might soon vie with the wealthiest 
of our northern sisters of the Union, in j)oint of agricul- 
ture and commerce. But what is to encourage the indus- 
try of the farmer, the mechanic, the artisan, while the pro- 
duce of his labor is lost for want of facilities to a market — 
or what is worse, will hardly pay its own freight there, 
and yet they behold in the minds of those whom they 
have chosen to legislate for them an indisposition to any- 
thing like endeavoring to better their condition, as it re-- 
gards commerce by opening a communication with the 
world.* 
Intolerant public And further, wheu free citizens, proprietors of the soil, 

policy also respon- 
sible, and consequently partakers of the good and evil which re- 
sult to the State at large, behold a political evil, and not 
only see but feel it:}:, and when they publicly and constitu- 
tionally assemble to instruct their jRepresentatives to coun- 
teract its effect, and are threatened for that cause with 
persecution even for conscience sakef, who should think 
strange, of those who have added much to the real wealth 

*A central railroad. 

X The introduction of slaves in the State. 

t The Quaker bill of 1827. 

360 



Causes of Emigration. 361 

and improvement of the State, whose forefathers for sim- 
ilar causes left the well cultivated fields of Old England. 
l)roke the interior of the wilderness and converted it into 
fruitful gardens, should be stimulated to break the wilder- 
ness of the West and leave their oppressors sole occupants 
of the soil. A Brief Remarker. 

— Raleigh Beglstcv, 1827. 



4. GOV. BURTON'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

wn^'l^uMntCToV/^'' ^o Create and sustain within onr own State, one or more 
serttonai'feeihigs Commercial depots, which, thro' lines of easy, direct and 
wuder progress. clicap inter communication, shoiild connect the extremities 
of the country together ; serving to keep the circulating 
medium, the very life-blood of commerce, in a continual 
and healthy flow throughout our ow^n body politic — there- 
b}' destroying that injurious and unfortunate dej^endcnce 
upon our sister states (one of the principal causes alluded 
to above,) has been the ardent. wish and anxious desire of 
every enlightened friend of the State. In the prosecution 
of this subject, much has been attempted, much has been 
expended, and but little has hitherto been done. In the 
conflict between the prejudices naturally flowing from 
sectional feelings and the correct reason of the case, the 
energies of the State have been almost palsied and her 
attempt rendered comparatively abortive. The want of 
systematic arrangement, and the failure to select one or 
more points, combining the gTcatest variety of interests, 
upon which the accumulated energies of the State might 
have been thrown with irresistible effect, has been the 
source of almost total ruin to our system of Internal Im- 
provements.* * * 
toTrreciatoed^*^' Connected with this system, is a subject, in which it is 
expected every sincere friend of his country will take a 
deep interest. I refer to the draining and reclaiming of 
our swamp and marsh lands. This work has already been 
commenced, in a manner highly creditable to your prede- 
cessors. They authorized the Board of Internal Improve- 
ments to employ surveyors to make the necessary exami- 
nation of certain swamps, whose locality was specified, 
preparatory to the commencement of this important work, 
Two gentlemen, Mr. Tv'ash, highly recommended by Gov. 
Clinton for science and skill in his profession, and Mr, 

Brozier, whose qualifications as a survevor are well known, 

362 



Gov. Burton on Education. 363 

have been engaged during the greater part of the past Sum- 
mer and Fall, in making surveys, drafting platts and col- 
lecting the information required. All of which will be 
communicated to you more at large. It is sincerely de- 
sired, that the result of the investigation which you may 
bestow upon the labours of these gentlemen, may be such 
as to induce you zealously to prosecute this work. Could Advantages to be 

, ,,'^ nn n-ini i derived from this 

tliese lands generally be reclaimed, the advantages result- worii. 
ing to the farming interest of the State, from the addition 
of such an immense body of arable lands, would be incalcu- 
lable. To the l>enevolent and philanthropic no undertak- 
ing could be presented so acceptable as one proposing to 
diminish the quantum of human misery, by removing a 
fruitful source of disease, and converting a curs© into a 
blessing. To the legislator it must be consoling to know, 
that while he, in this way, prevents the partial depopula- 
tion of his State, he is at the same time creating the most 
ample and permanent provision for the education of the 
poor of the rising generation. Did the subject hold no 
other advantage, this of itself would entitle it to deep at- 
tention and untiring exertion. For, upon the education 
of the generation now growing up, and those that wdll 
come after, depends, in a great measure, the continuance, 
in their purity, of our happy forms of government. It is 
at once the source of public and private respectability, the 
spring of social and individual happiness. Yet, with all 
the advantages which must incontestably flow from reclaim- 
ing the swamp lands and a system of free schools, they are 
both in danger of failing, from the failure of the provision 
upon which both w^ere measurablv based. In their aid. Lottery for the 

T-1 1-i'i-r.icT 1 li'ii'pose of draining 

the last Legislature authorized the Board oi Internal lands a failure. 
Improvements, and the President and Directors of the 
Literary Fund, respectively, to raise, by way of lottery, 
$50,000, and allowed them to sell the privilege. After a 
fair experiment it has been found impossible to procure 
a ]nirchaser. With you it remains to make such other and 



364 Gov. BUETOA^ ON EdUCxVTIOX. 

further provision, as shall seem best calculated to attain 
objects so desirable. Whether the practice of some States, 
of granting exclusive privileges to the purchasers of lot- 
teries sold by such States, by totally prohibiting the sale 
of tickets in any other lottery, would render the privilege 
O'ffered for sale, by the State, more valuable, or Avhether 
any other system can be resorted to, are subjects which 
may deservedly claim your attention. 
— House Journal 1S27-,3S, pp. 127-128. 



5. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

Senate Committee on Education : Emanuel Sbobev, senate eommittee. 
Stokes ; Nicholas J. Drake, Nash ; John Joyner, Pitt : 
Abner Franklin, Iredell ; Nathan B. Whitefield, Lenoir, 

— Senate Journal^ 1827-28, p. 10. 

House Committee on Education : Joseph D. White, House committee. 
Bertie ; Enoch Ball, Currituck ; George Whitefield, Le- 
noir ; Thos. W. Blackledge, Beaufort ; Joseph Gillespie, 
Duplin ; John T. Gilmore, Bladen ; John C. Taylor, Gran- 
ville ; Nathan A. Stedman, Chatham ; John M. Morehead, 
Guilford; Wm. J. Alexander. Mecklenlmrg; Nathaniel 
Gordon, Wilkes; Benjamin S. Brittain, Haywood; Robert 
H. Jones, W^arren ; H. J. G. Ruffin, Franklin ; Clement 
Marshall, Anson ; Malcolm Purcell, Robeson. 

— House Journal, 1827-28, p- ISS. 



365 



6. LEGISLATIVE IINQUIRY INTO CONDITION OF LITEKAKY 

FUND. 

„ ... , , Saturday, Nov. 24, 1827.- — On motion of Mr. Perry\ 

Committee on state '' ' ' . -^ 

of literary fund. Resolvecl, That the Committee on Education he instructed 
to inquire into the state of the Literary Fund and report 
to this House at an early day in the Session. 

—House Journal, 1827-28, p. 137. 



Committee to in- 



' Robert Perry, Perquimans. 

Wednesday, Dec. 5, 1827. — On motion of Mr. Black- 
ledge, 

Resolved, That a select committee be appointed to in- 

iTtemi?'fund!ip°' ^^'^^^^ into the state of the Literary Fund; and also to 

pointed. inquire whether any bond has been taken from the person 

entrnsted witli the safe keeping of the monies belonging 

to the President and Directors of the Literary Fund, for 

the due and faithful performance of his duty. 

Resolved, That Messrs. Blackledge, Adams," Lilly, Euf- 
fin and Pool form this committee.^ 

— House Jourval, 1827-28, p. 157. 



1 Thomas W. Blackledge, Beaufort; Kinchen Q. Adams, Johnston; 
James M. Lilly, Montgomery ; Henry J. G. Ruffin, Franklin ; John 
Pool, Pasquotank. 

Report of the com- Monday, Dec. 17, 1827. — Mr. Blackledge, from the se- 

mittee presented. . . . 

lect committee, to whom was referred the resolution direct- 
ing them to inquire into the state of the Literary Fund ; 
and also to inquire whether any bond had been taken from 
the j)ei'Son entrusted with the safe keeping of the monies 
belonging to the President and Directors of the Literary 
Fimd, for the due and faithful performance of his duty, 
reported that the committee had, according to order, had 
the subjects referred to them under consideration, and 
instructed him to report a bill to lu'ovide for the safe keep- 

36« 



Condition of Litekaey Fund. 367 

ing of the money appropriated to the Literary Fund, and 
to recommend its passage. The said bill was read, and, 
on motion, ordered to be printed, one copy for each mem- 
ber of the Assembly. 

—House Journal, 1827-28, pp. 187-188. 

The Report. 
The select Committee to whom was referred a resolution 
directing them "to inquire into the state of the Literary 
Fnnd ; and also to inquire whether any bond had been 
taken from the person entrusted with the safe keeping of 
the monies belonging to the President and Directors of the 
Literary Fund, for the due and faithful performance of 
his duty" repectfully report: That they entered upon the 
performance of their duties at as early a period as the ex- 
isting inquiries into the financial aifairs of the State then 
pending, would permit. Being entirely without data on i.etter to the Gov- 
the subject, the Chairman was directed by the Committee 
to address a letter to his Excellency H. G. Burton, as 
President of the board appointed for the management of 
the Literary Fund, desiring him to communicate such in- 
formation on the subjects embraced in the resolution as 
would enable your Committee to perform the duties as- 
sigTied them by the House. The Chairman, accordingb' 
did address a letter to his Excellency asking of him to 
know : First, What was the amount of money constituting Questions asked, 
the Literary Fund ? 2ndly, What investments had been 
made in stock of the various banks ? 3rdly, At what time 
those investments had been made ? But lastly and mainly, 
whether the President and Directors had taken a bond 
from the person entrusted \vith the safe keeping of the 
monies of the institution ? This letter was delivered to 
his Excellency by the Chairman of the Committee; and in 
answer thereto on the 10th inst., the letter of which the 
following is a copy was received by the chairman and by 
]iim sulimitted to the consideration of the Committee. 



3G8 Condition of Literary Fund. 

(Copy.) 
Ealeigh Monday Morning, Dec. 10, 1827. 
No bond hiis been Sir, 111 answcr to vour letter of Saturday last, as cliair- 
Treasurer of the man of a Coiiiinittoe of the House of Commons, enclosing 

Literary Board ; no . , . / * • 

authority to take a resolution ol the House directing An inquiry into the 

such a bond. _ <d ± v/ 

state of the Literary Fund, and whether any bond had 
been taken from the person intrusted mth the safe keeping 
of the monies belonging to the President and Directors of 
the Literary Fund for the due and faithful performance 
of his duty." I have the honor to state that no such bond 
has been taken by the President and Directors of the Lit- 
erary Fund. The act of the Legislature of 1825 creating 
a fund for C*ommon School directs that the Board shall 
cause to be kept by the Treasurer of the State, a regular 
account of all such sums of money as may belong to the 
said fund, the manner in which the same has been vested 
and applied and that they shall make annual report there- 
of to the Legislature. A reference therefore to the act 
shows that the board had no authority by law to take from 
the person entrusted with the safe keeping of the monies 
of the board, a bond for the ]3erformance of his duties ; 
and that it would have been perfectly unnecessary it 
should have contained any such provision as the law makes 
it the duty of the Treasurer of the State to receive the 
monies appropriated for common schools ; and that he shall 
keep a regular account of the same. The condition of the 
Public Treasurer's bond required by law ''that he shall 
faithfully account for the public money of the State, and 
for his performing the several duties appertaining to the 
office of Public Treasurer." So that any duty required by 
laAv for the Treasurer of the State to perforin comes with- 
in the (Mindition of his bond. The annual report I pre- 
sume will be made by the present board in a short time; 
but as it may be desirable on the part of the Legislature to 
know the true condition of the fund, before that report 
shall be received, I take this opportunity of giving an ab- 



Condition of LiterxVry Fund. 369 

stract of the receipts of the two last years, and an acconnt 

of the monies which have been invested in Bank stock, 

under the authority of the act. 

Balance of the fund reported by the Treasurer condition of the 

l^ov. 1825 $12,304.95-1- ^"^^''''^'^' ^'"^• 

Agricultural fund transferred by law Feb. 

1827 8,041.92^ 

Dividends on jSTewbern Bank Stock 2,692.50 

Dividends on Cape Fear jSTavigation Company 420.00 

Tavern tax 1827 3,467.44 

Auction tax 1827 553.65 

Entries for land received 1827 4,300.35^ 



Total receipts for 1826 and 1827 $35,989,823- 

Credit this amount by the following expenditures, viz : 

For 78 shares of Stock of the State Bank at 

par $ 7,800.00 

For Blank Books to keep accounts • 5.50 



7,805.50 
And leaving a balance due the Literary Fund 
from the Treasurer of the State of the sum 
of $28,184,321 

From this statement it will be seen that 78 shares of 
Bank Stock have been purchased for the fund, which have 
been regularly transferred to the President and Directors, 
and stands so transferred on the books of the State bank 
of North Carolina. 

The above sum of $28,184.32^ has been received by the 
late John Haywood as Treasurer of the State, and in ad- 
dition to which sum, the Literary Fund has in the State 
Bank, the sum of $17.50 for dividends in June last, and 
also the dividends lately declared on the stock. — the 



24 



370 CoNDiTioK OF Literary Fund. 

amount of which will appear I presume in the report here- 
after to be made by tlie board to the Legislature. 
I have the honor to be, respectfully, 

H. G. Burton. 

Letter to the At tor- On the fullcst consideration which the Committee could 

ney General ; ques- 
tions asked, bestow on this letter, there still remained some discrepancy 

of opinion among us as to the legal soundness of his Excel- 
lency's opinion. And in order to produce unanimity by 
getting advice from higher authority, the chairman of the 
Committee addressed a letter to J. F. Taylor, Esquire, 
the Attorney General of the State, who was deemed by the 
committee to be the constitutional adviser upon legal 
points connected with the interests of the State, desiring 
his opinion : First, whether the condition in the Treas- 
urer's bond as Public Treasurer would cover any deficit 
in the Literary Fund ? 2ndly, Whether it was the duty 
of the President and Directors of the Literary Fund to 
take a bond and security from the persons entrusted with 
the safe keeping of the monies constituting said fund ? 
To this letter the Attorney General replied with great 
promptness and your committee annex a copy of his letter 
to this report as part thereof. 

Dec. 10, 1827. 

Dear Sir: You have done me the honor to ask my 
opinion whether the condition of the Treasurer's bond 
covers any deficiency in the Literary Fund and whether 
it was the duty of the President and Directors of that fund 
to take bond from the person entrusted with the safe keep- 
ing of their money, and I now submit to you the result of 
the little reflection, I have been ( nabled to bestow u]ion the 
subject since the receipt of your communication this morn- 
ing. 
Held that the Upon the first question, I am of the opinion that the 

the Treasurer does conditiou of the Treasurer's bond does not cover any de- 

not cover the . . - _^. . « „ ' 

Literary Fund. ficicncv lu the Litcrarv T uud. Lhat II anv sum ot money 



Condition of Literary Fund. 371 

lias been set apart and transferred bv tbe public treasurer 
to the President and Directors of the Literary Fund with 
their assent, such sum thereby ceased to form a part of the 
Public Funds covered by the condition of the bond ; but 
became subject to the exclusive control of the President 
and Directors and if any part of it was left with the pub- 
lic Treasurer (an act on the part of the board not contem- 
plated I think by the Legislature) the Treasurer thereby 
Ixeomes their agent, but ceased to hold the money as Pub- 
lic Treasurer. But the mere report of the Public Treas- 
urer that he held so much money belonging to that fund 
does not make such a transfer of it to the President and 
Directors as to prevent the liability of the Treasurer's se- 
curities; that before their liability ceases, there must not 
only be a declaration on the part of the Treasurer that so 
much has been set apart, but some acknowledgement of 
that fact on the part of the President and Directors. 

Upon the second question I think it was not contem- l^^^ ,|<)es not 
plated by the Legislature that a bond was to be taken from ^^''"^""^'^ ^""'^• 
any one. They seem to have considered that the money 
appropriated to the Literary funel should remain in* the 
Treasury until the appropriation should be made by the 
President and Directors to the purpose for which they 
were incorporated ; — anel that the money thus called for 
by them and the proceeels thereof should be subject exclu- 
sively to the control of the Board. 

Very Respectfully, Your obedient servant, 

T. W. Blacklege, Esq. J. F. Taylor. 

On the comi)arison of the two letters, it will be ai^pa- ^. 

' ^ ' Disagreement be- 

rent to the House, that there is a difference of opinion be- or fhe //(Vvernor'*'^* 

tween his Excellency and the Attorney General, as to the uenemL'^""'"^^^ 

responsibility for the Treasurer's bond for any deficit in 

the Literary Fund. Your committee decline giving anv 

opinion when two such high authorities disagree. They 

lament that they have to state a deficit of twenty-eight 

thousand, one hundred and eighty-four dollars and thirty- 



372 



Condition of Literary Fund. 



No censure of any 
one ; bill recom- 
mended. 



Bill to require a 
bond. 



two and a half cents, ($28,184.32^), as appears by his 
Excellency's letter making a part of this report. 

In conclusion your committee have laid all the facts 
connected with the subject before the house. They do not 
feel called upon to pass any censure upon those high public 
functionaries to whose custody and direction this sacred 
deposit has been entrusted. As to any expression of 
opinion which is unfavorable or otherwise upon that part 
of the subject they leave it to the Legislature. But for 
the purpose of preventing so unfortunate and disreputable 
a recurrence of circumstances, they recommend the pas- 
sage into a law of the following 

BlI.L 

To provide for the safe keeping of the money appropri- 
ated to the Literary Fund. 

Be it enacted &c. That it shall hereafter be the duty 
of the President and Directors of the Literary Fund to 
take bond and security from the person entrusted with the 
safe keeping of the monies of the institution, in a penalty 
double the amount of the sum or sums so entrusted for safe 
keeping. 

Sec. 2d. And be it further enacted, that this act shall 
be in force from and after the ratification thereof. 
All of which is respectfully submitted, 

Thom/s Wharton Blacklege^ 

Chairmaji. 



Rejection of the 
bill and report. 



Endorsed on the above bill and report : In H. Com- 
mons 5-Jan.-1828, read and the report and bill unani- 
mously rejected. 

— Unimhlislied Legislative Documents, 1827. 



7. SMITH'S BILL TO REPEAL LITERARY FUND LAW. 

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 1827. — ^fr. Smiths with leave, pre- House mh to repeal 

"^ ' ^ Literary Fniul 

sented a bill to repeal an act, passed in the year 1825, en- introduced, 
titled ''an act to create a fund for the establishment of 
common schools.'' The said bill was read, and, on mo- 
tion, referred to the committee on Education. 

— House Journal, 1827-28, p. 191. 



' Jfathaniel G. Smith, Chatham. 

A Bill to repeal an Act passed in the year 1825, entitled Literary Vund!^"^ 
"An Act to create a fund for the establishment of Common 
Schools." 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly and it is hereby 
enacted by the authority of the same; That the above re- 
cited act be, and the same is hereby repealed. 

— Unpuhlished Legislative Documents 1827-28. 



878 



8. DRAKE'S BILL TO REPExVL LITERARY FUND LAW. 

LrtoS-'Funci'iS A Bill to repeal an Act passed in the year 1825, entitled 
''an act to create a fund for the establishment of common 
schools." 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
i^orth Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, that an act passed in the year 1825, entitled 
"an act to create a fund for the establishment of common 
schools," be and the same is hereby repealed. 

Be it further enacted that the fund created by the above 
entitled act, and known by the name of the Literary Fund, 
shall constitute a part of the funds in the public treasury 
of the State. 

— From Unpuhlislied Legislafive Docnments, 1827-28. 
wA\\>\\iiA\hiin Saturday, Jan. 5, 1828. — Mr. Drake^ presented a bill 

the Senate. t' ,., -, r^r^^ • -t c 

to rejDeal an act, passed m the year 1825, entitled an 
act to create a fund for the establishment of common 
schools" ; which being read the first time, on motion of 
Mr. Alexander", the said bill was indefinitely postponed. 

— Senate Journal 1827-28. 



^ Nicholas J. Drake Nash. 

^William J. Alexander, Mecklenburg. 



374 



9. LITERARY FUND CLERK BILL REJECTED. 

Mr. Owen^ presented a bill to authorise the President senate passess 

•^ _ Literary Puiul 

and Directors of the Literary Fund to employ a clerk ; cierk bin 
which bill was read the first, second, and third times and 
passed, and ordered to be sent to the House of Commons. 

—Senate JuurnaJ, 1827-28, p. 117. 

Received from tlie House of Commons, a messao;e, stat- House rejects^ 

' ^ ■ Literary Fund 

iiig that they have rejected the engrossed bill to authorise ^^^^'^ '^^^'• 
the President and Directors of the Literary Fund to em- 
ploy a Clerk. 

—Senate Journal 1827-28, p. 121. 



' John Owen, Bladen, 



A Bill to authorize the President and Directors of tlu_ Bin allowing Di- 
rectors of Literary 

Literary Fund to appoint a Clerk. J'le"^ ''^ ^'"" '' 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
]^orth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, that the President and Directors of the Liter- 
ary Fund bo authorized to employ a Clerk, who shall be 
allowed a salary not exceeding Fifty Dollars, per annum, 
to be paid on the warrant of the President, and that the 
said sum be allowed for the last year. 



— From Unpublished Documents, 1827-28. 



375 



10. REPORT ON LITERARY FUND REPEAL BILL. 

Snaslt'rej^c'^"" Mondaj, Dec. 31, 1827.— Mr. Morehead\ from the 
Literary'iAina'^ia'w' Committee on Education, to whom was referred the bill to 
repeal an act, passed in the year 1825, entitled "an act to 
create a fund for the establishment of common schools," 
reported that the committee had had the said bill under 
consideration, and instructed him to recommend that the 
said bill be rejected. The report was read and concurred 
in. 

— House Journal, 1827-28, pp. 221- 



' John M. Morehead, Guilford. 

The committee on Education to whom was referred the 
bill to repeal an Act passed in the year 1825, entitled an 
"Act to create a fund for the establishment of Common 
Schools," have had the same under consideration and beg 
leave to report: That by the act of 1825 a fund for com- 
mon schools is created, in which the youth of our State are 
to be instructed in the common principles of reading, writ 
ing and arithmetic : 

fund.'""""'"'"' That under the provisions of that act, a fund to the 

amount of $35,989.82^ cts. has already accumulated; that 
the sum with the dividends of Bank Stock and JSTavigation 
Stock, monies arising from licenses, granted to retailers 
and auctioneers ; monies arising from entries of vacant 
land, and the vacant and unappropriated swamp lands ; 
also the sum of $21,090 which was paid by the State for 
Indian reservations, which it is hoped will be refunded by 
the United States ; all of which are appropriated by said 
act to the fund for Common Schools, will create a fund 
sufficient to carry the rudiments of an English Education 
to the door of every cottage in this State. 

ull'^Ma ons^r' ''* Y^^^ committee believe that the passage of that Act 

376 



Report oin" Repeal of Litekary Fund Law. 377 

must have been greeted by every Philanthropist, and 
friend of Civil Liberty, as the foundation on which was 
to rest the future happiness of our citizens, and the per- 
petuity of our political institutions. Ours is literally a 
country of laws ; we acknowledge no superiority, but that 
voluntary tribute which is paid to personal merit : we in- 
herit, in common, the birth right of equality, and it is 
equally the duty of every citizen to act and think for the 
common welfare. ]f the great mass of the people are per- 
mitted to remain in ignorance, their acts must be the re- 
sult of caprice or delusion. They will have to receive their 
political faiths from those, whose opportunities have given 
them an extent of information, and superiority of under- 
standing, unatainable by them whose misfortune it may 
have been to be poor. 

Instead of forming their opinions, upon mature delib- 
eration from the collected wisdom of our political sages, 
they will have to receive their information from others, 
whose interest it may be to dupe and mislead them. 

Unfortunately for all countries, and more particularly 
for ours, there will be demagogues ever ready to excite the 
prejudices, and inflame the passions of the people to effect 
a result, directly the reverse of that, which would have 
been the dictate of a well-instructed judgment. 

From the very nature of our civil institutions, the people 
must act ; it is wisdom and policy, to teach them to act 
from the lights of reason, and not from the blind impulse 
of deluded feeling. 

Your committee cannot but contrast the sullen discon- coiKiitinnoCan 

i,!,Mi(>nuit anil ;i 

tentvof an ignorant people, brooding over evils which dc wrii-inibnned 

•^ i J- ^ o l)eoi)lc contrasted. 

not exist, and wrongs never sustained, with the happy con- 
dition of a well-informed people, whose sonnd judgment? 
discriminate between the declamatory froth of a dema- 
gogue, and the sound doctrines of political philosophy. 

Independent of any political influence that general edu- 
cation might have your committee are of opinion that any 



378 Eepoet on Repeal of Literary Fund Law. 

State or sovereign, having the means at command, are 
morally criminal if they neglect to contribute, to each citi- 
zen or subject that individual usefulness and happiness 
which arises from a well-cultured understanding. 

Duty of the state Your committee believe that it is the dutv and the in- 
to instruct poor _ . . r i 

children. tercst of Nortli Carolina to instruct that part of her popu- 

lation, who possess not the means of acquiring a useful 
education ; and to afford every possible facility for the in- 
struction of those, whose fortune places them beyond the 
necessity of charitable assistance. The ample means 
which she can command could not be more usefully or 
nobly employed. 

Your committee cannot conceive a nobler idea, than that 
of the genius of our country, hovering over the tattered 
son of some miserable hovel, leading his infant but gigantic 
mind in the paths of useful knowledge, and pointing out 
to his noble ambition the open way by which talented merit 
may reach the highest honors and preferments of our gov- 
ernment. Your committee unanimously recommend the 
rejection of the Bill. All of which is respectfully sub- 
mitted, J. M. MOREHEAD, Ch. 

In House of Commons 31 Dec. 1827 — read and unani- 
mously concurred in. 

— rupuhlished Legislative Documents. IS'27. 



11. DEAF AND DUMB INSTITUTION INCORPORATED. 

Prc4iiiiinary Meeting. After the business of the Bible officers of the 
Society was disposed of, a meeting was held, agreeably to 
the notice given in onr last Register, to take into consid- 
eration the expediency of establishing an Institntion for 
the instruction of the deaf and dnnib. The Rev. Dr. 
M'Pheeters was called to the Chair, and J. Gales acted a? 
Secretary. 

On motion, it was resolved to establish a Society, undei' Rosoiations to in- 

ii ,' i.Lrt^^ -vr / < T T .-i.- c .1 • , corporate a society. 

the name oi ihe JN. Carolina institution tor the instruc- 
tion of the deaf and dumb." A Constitution Avas immedi- 
ately formed, subject to revision, and signed by the per- 
sons present. Committees were appointed to revise the 
Constitution ; to make application to the General Assem 
bly for an act to incorporate the Society ; and for drafting 
a memorial to Congress, praying for a grant of land, such 
as has heretofore been given to institutions of the same 
kind in some of our sister States. 

His Excellency the Governor is chosen President of the 
Society. The other officers will be published hereafter. 

The Rev. Dr. CakUvell, at the unanimous request of th^r Address by Dr. 
meeting, has consented to deliver an Address in favor of ' 
this Institution, in the Commons Hall, on Wednesdav 
evening next, at candle light. At the close of which, a 
meeting of the Society will be held. 

— Raleigh Register, Dec. 21, 1827. 

Address bv Dr. Caldwell. On Wednesday evenino- last, convincing 

"^ _ I ^ address. 

agreeably to previous arrangement, the Rev. Dr. Caldwell 
delivered a most interesting & ap]n'0])riate Address in the 
Commons' Hall, on the subject of establishing an Asylum 
in the State, for the instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, nor 
did he fail to convince any, we presume, of the expediency 
and duty of contributing to the erection of such Institu- 
tions, 

379 



380 Deaf aa'd Dumb Institution. 

storj- of the begin- ^^ was Ordered by Providence, whose afflictions are fre- 

Galfaudetf ''"'^''"'^qnently blessings in disguise, that a gentleman of high 
standing in society, experienced the misfortune of having 
a part of his family ahlicttd by this calamity. Aided by 
the benevolent efforts of other individuals, he sent a person 
to Europe to attain a knowledge of the means there used 
to remedy this melancholy privation. Mr. Gallaudet, a 
pious, philanthropic gentleman, highly gifted and very lib- 
erally educated, undertook this labor of love. At London 
his reception was far from satisfactory, and he proceeded 
to Edinburg, where he was still more mortified. It seemed 
as if the friends of the human race there, wished to mo- 
nopolize the merits of these praise-worthy institutions and 
confine their blessings to a very small sectional part of the 
globe. From Scotland he went to France, and there the 
doors of the schools were thrown open to him, and Abbe 
Sicard, the benevolent and liberal minded successor of 
Abbe de L'Eppe rendered him every facility for the acqui- 
sition of this language of Charity. 

visitofMr.ciere, A still greater benefit Mr. Gallaudet derived from his 
visit to France, for it induced Mr. Laurent Clere, one of 
the most intelligent of the Professors, to accompany him to 
America. And this was the first seed sown, whose ma- 
tured gro\\'th are spreading their branches in eveiy quarter 
of the Union. Our readers will be astonished to learn that 
in ISTorth Carolina, the number of persons who labor under 
the distressing disabilities attached to the want of hearing 
and speech, is estimated at 400. 

Condition of the One of Mr. Clcre's answers to queries respectiii'i' his 

untaught deaf. f i i-ic- i • is • 

State, before he was himself instructed, is very aitf ctmg — 
"I had a mind and did not think — I had a hcrt and did 
not feel." Persons suffering under these privations, be- 
fore enlightened by education, appear to be terrified when 
death meets their eves. They look upon the lifeless clay 
with horror, for thev have no idea of futuritv, no knowl- 



Deaf and Dumb Ikstitution. 381 

edge of a superintending Providence, no hopes of meeting 
in another and a better world. 

— Raleigh Register, Dec. 28, 1827. 

Society Incorporated. An Act to incorporate the North 
Carolina Institution for the instruction of Deaf and 
Dumb.^ 

Whereas certain individuals of this State have associ- Preamble, 
ated themselves together, under the name of the North 
Carolina Institution for the instruction of deaf and Dumb, 
for the purpose of establishing an asylum for the reception 
and instruction of such unfortunate persons in this State 
as may belong to that description ; and they being desirous 
that this Legislature should extend to them the powers and 
privileges of a body corporate and politic ; therefore, 

I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State g^^'^" corporate 
of North Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 

of the same, That the present and future members of the 
North Carolina Institution for the instruction of deaf and 
dumb, be, and they are hereby constituted a body politic 
and corporate by the name and style of '"The North Caro- 
lina Institution for the instruction of deaf and dumb ;" 
and by that name shall have perpetual succession and a 
common seal ; may acquire, hold and possess, sell and 
transfer estate, real and personal ; may sue and be sued, 
plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, and 
generally do, exercise and perform all the powers and 
privilesres usually exercised and performed by bodies poli- 
tic and corporate in this State. 

II. Be it further enacted, That power is hereby granted 
to the members of the institution aforesaid to make and 
establish such byelaws and resfulations for their govern- 
ment, and that of their officers and agents, as they may 
deem necessary and proper, the same being not inconsistent 



' Introdviced in the House, Saturday, Dec. 29, 1827, by Charles 
Fisher, of Salisbury. See House Journal, 1827-28, p. 216. 



382 



Deaf a^^d Dumb Ixstitutioist^. 



with the constitution and hiws of this State, or of the 
United States. 

—Laws, 1827-28, cliap. LXIV. 



Land o-rant asked. OtKcei's and Dii'ectoTS. We have stated in a former 
Register, that a Society was formed in this City on the 
18th ultimo for the purpose of establishing an Institution 
for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb of this State, 
since which, an Act has been passed incorporating the 
Society, and a Memorial been sent on to Congress, praying 
for a grant of land for the Institution, with a request that 
our Senators and Representatives in C^ongress will give 
their aid to the ai:)plication. The following gentlemen 
have been appointed (3fficei=s of the Society for the ensuing 
year : 

Governor Ikedell, President 

Rev. Dr. Caldwell, 

Dr. Beckwith, 

Stephen Bikdsall, Treasurer. 

Westox E. Gales^ Secretary. 



Officers. 



V. Presidents. 



Directors. 



Directors. — Charles Fisher, Wm. Davidson, Wni. Boy- 
lau, Rev. Dr. Wm. McPheteers, Wm. Peace, Wm. Hill, 
Benj. S. King, Wm. Robards, Wm. Gaston, Beverly 
Daniel, Bartlctt Yancy, Alfred Moore, John L. Taylor, 
Gavin Hogg, Frederic Nash, James Mebane, John Beard, 
Jr., James F. Taylor, Charles Manly, Joseph Gales. 

Editorial, Raleigh Register. Jan. U, 1828. 



12. SECOND KEFORT LlTEiiAKY BOARD. 

Executive Oeeice^ 

Jany 3rd, 1828. 
At this time and place a meeting of the President and 
Directors of the J^iterary Fnnd was hekl, present, 

Gov. Iredell, ''^^ Board. 

Chief Justice Taylor, 
B. Yancy and 
Wm. Eobards Esquires. 

The following report Avas read and directed to be trans- 
mitted to the Legislature: 

Report. 
To the honble. The General Assembly of the State of 
K C. 
The President and Directors of the Literary Eund, in 
obedience to the duty imijosed upon them by law, respect- 
fully submit the following report: 

The receipts of this corporation for the year ending on 
the 1st. ISTovr. last, have been, 

The amount transferred from the Agricultural year!^^* 

Eund in Eeby. 1827 in ]3ursuance of an act 

passed in 1825 $ 8,041.92^ 

Dividend on Nev/bern Bank Stock 2,692.50 

Do. '' Cape Eear " " 4,209.00 

Do. " " " N^avigation Company. 420.00 

Tavern Tax for LS27 3,407.44 

Auction " 553.65 

Land Entries 4,300.35^ 

Dividend on 5 shares of State Bank Stock be- 
longing to the Literary Eund in June 1827 17.50 



$23,702.37 
Add to this the amount due the fund on the 
1st day of X(n'r. 1826, as heretofore reported. 12,304.95| 



Making an a^'gregate of $36,007. 32| 

383 



384 



Second Keport Litekaky Board. 



Investment of 
funds. 



Lottery to raise 
150,000 a failure. 



Of this amount there have been expended and 
appro^^riated 

For the purchase of a blank book to keep the 

accts 5.50 

For 78 shares of bank stock at par 7,800.00 



Leaving a balance, on the 1st Nov. 1827 of. .$28,201.82^ 

At a meeting of the Board on the 11th Febj. 1827, the 
Treasurer was directed to invest the amount then belong- 
ing to the Fund in stock of the different banks of this 
state, at certain rates designated by the Board. It appears 
from the foregoing account, that under these instructions, 
only $7,800 was invested. Whether the neglect to invest 
the rest of the fund, arose from the severe illness with 
which the Treasurer was soon afterwards afflicted, or from 
his inability to procure the stock on the terms prescribed 
by the Board, or from any other cause, the Board have 
now no means of ascertaining. 

By an Act of the General Assembly, passed in tlie year 
1826, the President and Directors of the Literary Fund 
were authorized to raise by way of Lottery, the sum of fifty 
thousand dollars ; one half of which was to constitute a 
part of the Literary Fund, and the other half to be paid to 
A. D. Murphey Esq. to aid him in his intended publication 
of the History of ISTorth Carolina. The Board regret to 
state, that in their efforts to accomplish the objects of this 
act, they have been unsuccessful. Letters were addressed 
to the principal brokers in the different cities of the United 
States, who had been engaged in purchasing the privilege 
of lotteries, inviting from them proposals for the one au- 
thorized by this Act. To all these letters, answers were 
returned, declining, for various reasons, to make any pro- 
posals. The Board believing that this was the mode in 
which the Legislature intended that the authority to raise 
money by lottery should be exercised, and unwilling to in- 
cur the risk and responsibility of drawing a lottery under 



Second Keport Literaky Board. 385 

their own superintendence, or that of agents appointed by 
them, without the special direction of the Legislature, 
have declined to take any further steps in this business. 
If the General Assembly should be still disposed to prose- 
cute this plan, it is respectfully suggested that new provi- 
sions should be added to those contained in the act of 1826, 
and such as will readily suggest themselves to your honor- 
able body, to inspire public confidence and prevent abuses 
and mismanagement in those who may be more immedi- 
ately employed in the direction of the lottery. Upon this 
subject, as upon every other, this Board will cheerfully 
perform any duty and obey any instruction that you may 
prescribe. 

The President and Directors of the Literary Fund, in Defalcation in the 
common with their fellow citizens, deeply deplore the un- 
fortunate defalcation in the Treasury Department, which 
has been recently develojDed and exhibited before your 
committee of Investigation. Much as it has affected them 
from its peculiar circumstances, so well calculated to excite 
their sympathy, they would deplore it still more deeply, 
if they could believe that it would have any influence in 
retarding the execution of the great plan, which your wis- 
dom has conceived, and in the prosecution of which they 
are employed as humble instruments. In the accomplish- 
ment of this plan, the ardent wishes of every benevolent 
mind, the hopes of every intelligent patriot are enlisted. 
Virtue and intelligence are the only sure foundations of a 
republic, and in proportion as you enlighten the mind, you 
add new incentives to virtue, and diminish the temptations 
to vice. The Board are happy to believe, as the result of Lit^^,i..^ry fund safe 
the anxious inquiries they have made on this subject, that 
there will be no necessity for any encroachment upon the 
Literary Fund to supply the temporary deficiency in the 
general funds of the State. They beg leave, in elucidation 
of this opinion, to offer the annexed statement, giving a 
prospective view of the fiscal concerns of the state for the 

ensuing vear. From this it will be seen that all the ordi- 
25 



386 Second IIeport Literary Board. 

nary expenditures of the government can be met without 
at all interfering with the specific appropriations hereto- 
fore made by the Legislature. While however they feel 
pleasure in presenting this prospect, they assure the Gen- 
eral Assembly that they will, in directing investments of 
the money intrusted to their management take especial 
care so to act as not in the slightest degree to impede the 
ordinary disbursements or derange the ordinary operations 
of the Treasury Department. 
Answer to criticism ^he Board having no further recommendations, & no 
oflhe fund!^''"'''"* other General View to present at this time to your Hon- 
ourable Body, might here close their report. But they 
feel constrained by a sense of duty to themselves, and of 
sincere respect for those under whom they hold their ap- 
pointments, to advert to the unfortunate misapprehension 
which prevails among some members of your honourable 
body, as to the manner in which the duty of this board has 
been performed. Creatures of your wull, called by you to 
the performance of responsible duties, without other reward 
than that which the Patriot feels, in the consciousness of 
contributing to the welfare of his country, with no possible 
interest to lead them astray, they had hoped, that even if 
they erred in judgment, the veil of charity would be cast 
over their errors. If they have received the censure of 
any one, they are willing to attribute it to that jealousy of 
persons entrusted with the management of monied affairs, 
which recent circumstances have tended so highly to ex- 
cite ; and to the want of that patient investigation of facts 
and of that cool process of reasoning, which the mind in its 
moments of irritation is unable to bestow ; but which is 
absolutely necessary to bring it to correct conclusions. It 
„ , „ is said, 1st. That the whole fund for common schools, 

The charges all ^ 

unfounded. amounting to twenty eight thousand dollars and upwards 

has been lost. 2ndly. That the President and Directors 
of this fund were censurable, for not taking bond from the 
persons entrusted with the keeping of their monies. And. 



Second Report Literary Board. 387 

thirdly, That the deficiency in this fund could not be cov- 
ered by any bond, which has been, or should have been 
given by the late Treasurer as Treasurer of the State. The 
Board believe, that a little reflection, will convince every 
one, that none of these propositions are well founded. 1st 
as to the loss of the fund set apart for common schools. 
Whether a loss has been sustained by any part of this fund ^s to whether any 
or not, as it was mixed in the hands of the public Trea- been^iost" 
surer, with the general funds of the state, can only be de- 
termined, by ascertaining luhen the Defalcation in the 
Treasury occurred, and when the sums appropriated to the 
Literary Fund came into the possession of the Treasurer ? 
It is well known that the act establishing this fund was 
passed at the session of 1825. The Board having here- 
unto annexed a statement, taken from the official records 
of the Treasury, by which it appears that the first monies 
transferred by the Treasurer under this act were trans- 
ferred on the 31st October 1826. By far the larger part 
of the sum belonsino; to this fund has been received since 
that period. It seems to have been the opinion of your 
committee of Investigation, and that opinion appears to 
this Board to be supported by strong circumstantial evi- 
dence, that the defalcation in the Treasury, from what- 
ever cause it proceeded, must have occurred before the 31st 
of October 1826, which was the close of a fiscal year. If 
this oj^inion be correct, it follows as a necessary conse- 
quence, that the money lost or withdrawn from the Treas- 
ury, must have belonged to some other than the Literary 
Fund, which then had no existence. The Board believe 
that this simple exposition and comparison of facts satis- 
factorily show, that whatever may be the deficiency in the 
Treasury, no part of the sum lost or abstracted can be 
properly chargeable to the fund, the Investment of which 
was entrusted to their care. They confidently, however, 
indulge the hope that the deficiency is merely temporary, 
and that the State will sustain no ultimate loss in any of 



taken. 



388 Second Report Literaky Board. 

its funds. Other views might be presented on this subject; 
which the Board, for the sake of brevity, forbear to urge ; 
and they therefore proceed to remark upon the second 
proposition, that they ought to have tal^en bond from the 
person to whom they entrusted the monies appropriated to 
Why no bond was the Literary fund. Upon tliis subject, the Board can 
only say, that upon an attentive consideration of the act, 
to which they owe their existence, and wliich prescribes and 
limits their powers and duties, they could perceive no au- 
thority vested in them to require bonds from any one. The 
act while it makes the treasurer of the State, ex officio, a 
member of the Board, and directs him to keep all their 
accounts, gives them no authority to appoint a Treasurer 
of their own, nor to withdraw the fund from the Public 
Treasury, except for the single purpose of investing at 
their discretion in some productive stock, with a view to 
its accumulation, until it should become sufficient for the 
ultimate object of its apj)ropriation. For this purpose, 
and this alone, the Board believe, they were constituted 
the special agents of the State. Would they not have been 
justly censurable, if, because the lecjal right to this fund 
was vested in them, for the sake of its more convenient 
management, they had withdrawn it from the hands of 
the person to wdiom was confided, by the choice of the 
immediate representatives of the people, the custody of 
the Public Money of the State, and had taken it into their 
own possession, or had given it in charge to one appointed 
by themselves and responsible only to them ? As to the 
3rd jiroposition, even if it were true in principle, the board 
can not understand how it is to affect them. If the true 
construction of the act of 1825 be as they have endeavored 
respectfully to show% that they had no authority to draw 
this fund from the Treasury into which it must originally 
be paid ; but for the purpose of investing it into stock, it 
must necessarily remain in the hands of the Treasurer, as 
Public Treasurer, until such investment is made or di- 



Second Report Literaky Board. 389 

rected by them. If the Legislature whose province it is, The bond of the 
have failed to make it a condition of his bond, that he the'^fcty of thi ^^ 
should account for this money, they and not the Board, 
who had no authority to require any bond, are responsible. 
But as the Board believe the opinion here alluded to, to be 
erroneous, they bi'iefiy state that according to their views, 
the money appropriated to this corporation must be re- 
ceived into the Public Treasury and there kept imtil this 
Board in their discretion shall direct its investment ; that 
the duty of safely keeping this money is as strongly en- 
joined by law upon the Public Treasurer as that of keeping 
any other money of the State ; that by the condition of the 
bond of the Public Treasurer, as prescribed by the act of 
1801, is, that he shall faithfully account for the public 
money and perform the several duties appertaining to his 
office as Public Treasurer, that the duty of keeping the 
Literary Fund was one imposed upon him in his official 
capacity as Public Treasurer ; and that even if the bond 
of this officer had been given before such duty was as- 
signed yet it has been determined by the Supreme Court, 
that when a public officer gives bond for the faithful dis- 
charge of his duties, the condition embraces future duties 
which may be superadded by the Legislature. The Board 
therefore have no doubt, that even if a loss had occurred in 
the Literary Fund by the default of the Treasurer before 
an actual appropriation and investment of the money had 
been made, such would have been embraced by the Bond of 
the Treasurer. And in this opinion they are hap])y to 
find that they have the concurrence officially expressed of 
the able Attorney General of the State. 

The Board will prolong their report no further than to 
express their deep regret that this exposition of their views 
should have been rendered necessary, and to offer as an 
apology for the late period at which this communication is 
made, the long vacancy that existed in the Treasury De- 
partment, and the pressing duties which have devolved on 



390 Second Report Literary Board. 

the present incumbent since bis appointment to tbat office. 
They bave tbe bonor to be, 

Witb tbe bigbest consideration, 
Your Obt. Servt. 

Ja. Iredell^ 
Prest. of the lAterary Fund. 
Ealeigb, 5tb Jany. 1828. 

STATEMENT. 

Probable condition ^ brief view of wbat tbe condition of tbe Treasury of 
oftreasvu-yis'is. ^j^-^ g^^^^ ^^-jj probably be on tbe 1st July and tbe 1st 

Novr. 1828. 

Deposits in Banks 1827 

In the Bank of Newbern $30,445.03 

In tbe State Bank 25,190.85 

In the Bank of Cape Fear 20,155.15 

In Bank Notes 80.00 

In Treasury notes fit for circula- 
tion 9,616.80 85,487.83 

Bank Dividend receivable Decbr. 
1827. In tbe State Bank, 2762 

shares, 3 pr. ct 8,286 

In the New Bank, 1663 shares 3 

pr. ct 4,989 

In tbe Ca. Fr. Bank, 2062 shares, 

2 pr. ct 4,124 

In tbe State Bank, (L. F.) 78 

shares, 3 pr. ct 234 

Div. on part of this stock of June 

1827 17.50 17,650.50 

The Dividends on stock of June, 
is estimated to be about tbe 
same as of Decbr. 1827 17,650.50 

120,788.83 



Second Repokt Literary Board. 391 

Supposed receipts for vacant land, 

1828 4,000.00 

Supposed receipts for Cherokee 

lands 5,000.00 

To dividends of Ca. Fear Nav. Co 840.00 



Eeceipts up to 1st July 1828 $130,628.83 

General Statement of the Treasury as to probable re- 
ceipts and expenditures up to 1st. July 1828. 

General Receipts $130,628.83 

Probable disbursements to 1st July 1828 

Legislature $36,000 

Executive Department 1,231 

State Department 750 

Treasury Department 1,250 

Comptroller's Department 600 

Adj't Gen 200 

Public Printer 450 

Judiciary 1,200 

Bal. Buncombe Turn. Co 250 

Div. on deferred St. Bk. Stock. . . 3,356 

Pensions 1,200 

Geological Survey 250 

Supposed appropriation to be 
made for the sale and finishing 
the survey of Cher, lands .... 2,000 

Other contingent expenses 1,000 60,537 



Deduct for cash paid for disburse- 
ments since 1st. ISTovr. 1827 to 
1st Jany. 1828 including sala- 
ries to Judiciary for the last 

fall and all arrearages 8,000.00 

Deduct other appropriations for 
this session. 

Extra printing supposed to be. . . 250.00 



70,09L83 



392 Second Report Literary Board. 

Other charges 500.00 

Cape Fear appropriation 6,230.00 14,980.00 

Supposed to be in the Treasury 

1st July 1828 $ 55,111.83 

To be applied to the use of Internal Improvements or 
the Lity. Fund. 

Balance supposed to be in the 

Treasury 1st. July 1828 $ 55,111.83 

Probable receipts after 1st. July 

& before 1st Nov. 1828. 

From Sheriffs, for taxes $67,000 

Auctioneers' tax 450 

Tax on Newbern Bank 6,337 

Tax on Cape Fear Bank 5,938 79,725.00 

Deduct from this amount the half 

year's expenses $134,836.83 

For Civil list from July to Nov. 

1828 24,537.00 

Bal. in the Treasury 1st. Nov. 

1828 $110,299.83 

Of this amount there is appropri- 
ated for Lity. Fund 38,245.50 

Of this amount there is appropri- 
ated for In. Imp 40,451.00 

In both Funds on 1st. Novr. 1828 78,696.50 

31,603.33 

From this sum deduct for salary paid 

Engineer in Deer. 1827 1,175 

Deduct for expenses till Novbr. . . 500 

Deduct for Half year's salary. . . 1,000 2,675.00 

Balance in the Treasury 1st Nov. 1828 28,928.33 



Second Report Literary Board. 393 

The amount of the Literary Fund stated above is com- 
posed of the following items heretofore appropriated : 

Amount on hand $28,184 

Receipts for vacant lands in 1828 4,000 

Dividends on IsFav. Co. Stock 2 dividends. . . 840 

Dividends on New Bk. Stock at Deer. 1827. . 1,077 

Dividends on New Bk. Stock at June 1828. . 1,077 

Dividends on Cape Fear Stock at Deer. 1827. 1,048 

Dividends on Cape Fear Stock at June 1828. 1,048 

Dividends on 78 St. Bk. Stock 3 pr. ct 234 

Dividends on Bank stock in June 1827 17.50 



$38,245.50 

The amount of the Internal Improvement Fund is com- 
posed of the following receipts, 

Amount now on hand 22,195 

Receivable for Cherokee lands 5,000 

Newbern Bank Stock dividends Deer. 1827. . 3,912 

Same Bank Stock dividends June 1828 3,912 

Bank of Cape Fear dividends Deer. 1827 2,716 

Same Bank June 1828 2,716 



$40,451 

Statement of the different periods at which the money 
constituting the Literary Fund was received into the 
Treasury. 

1825. 
Oct. 31. Dividends on 16 shares Newborn 
Bank stock, declared January 

1826 $ 62. 

" Dividend on 205 shares Newborn 

Bank stock declared July 1826. . 820. 
" Dividend on 235 shares of Cape 
Fear Bank stock declared Jany. 
1826 705. 



394 Second Report Literary Board. 

Oct. 31. Dividend on 417 shares Cape Fear 

Bank stock declared July 1826. . 1,255. 
" Tavern &' Retailers' tax received this 

day 4,109.84 

" Auction tax received this day 741.04 

" Land entries for the year ending this 

day 4,614.07^ 

1827 
Feby. 5. Agricultural fund transferred this 

day $ 8,041.92^ 

Oct. 31. Dividends on 359 shares of Newborn 

Bank Stock declared in Jany. 

1827 1,436. 

" Dividends on 359 shares I^ewbern 

Bank stock declared in July 1827 1,256.50 
" Dividends on 699 shares Cape Fear 

Bank stock, declared in Jany. 

1827 2,079. 

" Dividend on 704 shares of Cape 

Fear Bank stock declared in July 

1827 2,112. 

" Dividends on 150 shares of Cape 

Fear jN'av. Company stock 420.00 

" Tavern Tax received this day 3,467.44 

" Auction Tax received this day. . . . 553.65 
" Land entries for the year ending this 

day 4,300.35^ 



$35,989,821 

The sum of $17.50, the amount of a dividend declared 
in June 1827, on Five shares of State Bank stock, belong- 
ing to the Literary Fund, were never paid into the Treas- 
ury, but remain in deposit in that Bank to the credit of 
the President and Directors. 

Having no other business before them, the Board then 
adjourned sine die. Jno. K. Campbele, Secretary. 

— From, MS. Records Literary Board. 



13. EDITORIAL COMMENT ON REPORT OF LITERARY 
BOARD. 

We publish in our paper of today, two very interesting u^portanceofthe 
reports, the one of the President and Directors of the Lit ^YT.uemaHm-''"*^ 
erary Fund, and the other of the Board of Internal Im uteraryFund. 
provements. The subjects embraced in these reports are 
fraught with interest to the whole community, for with 
their success is identified the prosperity of the State, both 
in her moral and physical improvements. — To cherish the 
education of her youth, and to promote the improvement 
of her territory, is the imperious duty and highest interest 
of the State. These are the first steps in ascending to 
that pinnacle of greatness which will consummate her inde- 
pendence, her honor and her happiness. 

But however much we may feel concerned in the im- 
provement of the face of the country, our feelings at pres- More interested in 

^ J ? o X iiitfllcctual im- 

ent are more warmly enlisted on the subject of intellectual [iK.'^impr.'.'vement^" 
improvement as contemplated in the former of these re- countix*^^'^ °*^ '^ ^ 
ports. It affords us more than ordinary pleasure to be- 
hold in prospect, thro' that able report, at no very distant 
period, a system of education established, conformably to 
the design of the Constitution, suitable to the present con- 
dition of society ; so that the poor, who form no small por- 
tion of our citizens, may be afforded the means of teaching 
their children to read at least the history of their own 
•country, to understand the principles on which her free in- 
stitutions are based, and the part they are to perform in 
supporting them. 

That view which is presented of the subject in the re- 
p.rt, we humbly conceive, proceeds from a sound and en- reT'orn'rihe^ Lit- 
lightened judgment. We speak not the lang^uage of syco- "'"^ 
phantic flattery. The subject has too strong a hold on 
our feelings, to elicit only the high sounding, but empty 
expressions of compliment. We are led to these remarks 
from other motives than the mere paltry desire to concili- 
ate individual favor — they flow from the deep concern 

395 



396 Comment on Report Literary Board. 

which presides in our bosoms for the general welfare of 
the State, of which we are proud to boast our citizenship. 
We long to see those views realized. It would contribute 
more to the jDreservation of our liberties than the erection 
of fortifications, or the establishment of armies. What are 
fortifications without patriotic and virtuous soldiers to de- 
fend them ? and what are armies without enlightened offi- 
Knowiedge eie- ccrs to command them ? Knowledoe elevates man, and 

vates men ; quotes ... '" 

Bacon. gives him a consciousness of the freedom of the mind, and 

enlarges the empire of its dominion. In this opinion we 
are not alone. Among the host of authorities that might 
be adduced, we mention only the expression of the emi- 
nent Bacon, in whose sentiment the enlightened will read- 
ily concur — He has said 'That man is but what he knows.' 
What is it that enlightens the understanding, corrects the 
judgment, regulates the affections, refines the taste, and 
improves the manners ? What is it that raises man from 
the vilest barbarism to the highest state of refined civiliza- 
tion ? It is knowledge. And the foundation for acquiring 
the most extensive knowledge may be laid in "the rudi- 
ments of a common plain education." 

Aiittie learning And yet there are some who imbibe and propagate the 

not a dangerous . j. ± o 

thing. stale sentiment of the poet, that "a little learning is a 

dangerous thing;" and some there are to whom knowledge 
is hateful for its own sake. With the latter class we wish 
to have nothing to do. "Owl-like beings, creatures of 
darkness," let them rest in their favorite nooks, and de- 
light themselves with the shades of night. But with the 
former class, whose organs fit them for the radiance of 
noon-day, we beg to make a brief remark. Indifferently 
educated men, say they, are more apt to have crude notions 
than men not educated at all. If it be meant by this, that 
a smattering in many branches of knowledge, without a 
competent acquaintance with either, is a little learning — -is 
indifferent education, we have no hesitation in admitting 
the correctness of the sentiment, but if we are to under- 



Comment on Report Litbbaby Board. 397 

stand them as meaning that erroneous views of things is 
the result of being well taught in only a few of those 
things of w4iich a knowledge may be acquired, then we 
deny the position. A man who "is ever learning," and 
yet never "knows anything as he ought to know it," will 
have his understanding confounded and his senses be- 
wildered; but are the same effects likely to be produced 
by a small degree of knowledge properly obtained ? Does 
the man who learns the English Grammar have a worse 
idea of the Latin on that account ? or does a knowledge of 
Geography cause one to err fatally in his conjectures of 
Astronomy ? 

We think that a proper attention to this subject will set .„ ^jjo^ui hasten 
it in the most favorable light; and we do sincerely hope son'^m^eTn^^'^^^ 
that the Legislature and every individual in the com- iis^te^^^*^- 
munity will simidtaneously put forward their strength in 
hastening that era of universal day — when all, from the 
son of the wealthy, who burns the college lamp, to the 
plough-boy, who carols his rustic notes in the field, may be 
enlightened. Li such an event, ISTorth-Carolina will yet 
form as bright a star as any that sheds lustre on the Amer- 
ican banner. 

—The Star, Feb. 2, 1827. 



14. SPIRIT OF ECONOMY AND INDIVIDUALISM. 

The House of Commons rejected a resolution to place 
the Canova Statute of Washington on rollers, so as remove 
it easily from the capitol in case of fire. This statue was 
destroyed in 1831, by fire. 

— See House Journal, 1827-28, p. 169. 

The House of Commons rejected a resolution to place a 
Willard clock in Commons Hall. 

— See House Journal, 1827-28, ijp. 173 and 17 J/.. 

The House of Commons refused to adjourn for Christ- 
mas day, but afterwards reconsidered and adjourned. 

— See House Journal, 1827-28, pp. 203 and 205. 

House of Commons rejected a resolution requesting the 
Secretary of War to have a railroad surveyed from New- 
born to Ealeigh and thence into the western counties. 

—See House Journal 1827-28, 258. 



398 



1. PLAN FOR THE EDUCATION OF TEACHERS. 

2. GOV. IREDELL'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

3. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS REMEDY FOR EMIGRATION. 
3. THIRD REPORT OF THE LITERARY BOARD. 

5. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY. 

6. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

7. SENATOR McFARLAND'S BILL TO EDUCATE POOR CHIL- 

DREN. 

8. HOUSE RESOLUTIONS ON EDUCATION. 

9. HOUSE REPORT ON EDUCATION. 

10. PROCEEDINGS OF LITERARY BOARD. 



399 



1. PLAN FOE THE EDUCATIO:\ OF TEACHERS. 

Calls attention to We would Call the attention of our readers, and espe- 

the plan of a cor- 
respondent, cially of those who will compose a portion of our approach- 
ing General Assemblyj to a well-written Essay which ap- 
pears in today's Register, on the subject of Common 
Schools — a theme on which much has hitherto been said^ 
but for the establishment of which nothing has yet been 
done (except the formation of a Literary Fund of some 
considerable amount.) for want of an approved, well di- 
gested Plan. The writer of this Essay offers a plan, which 
we think worthy of the consideration of the Legislature. 

—BaleighEegister, Oct. 14. 1828. 

To the Members of the approaching Session of the Legis- 
lature of ^orth Carolina. 
Everybody admits It is uot deemed neccssary in this enlightened age, to 

the importance of . ,.,. cii ^ • ^ ^ ^ 

a system of educa- enter luto an elucidation of the advantages wnicli would 

tion ; plan for the 

education of the result from a wcll rcffulated system of public education. 

poor the prnicipal o j r 

question. ^^^^ ^^ ^^ \esLS,t all who possess common intelligence, admit 

that nothing would more contribute to the respectability 
and j)rosperity of the State, than the dissemination of 
•learning among its inhabitants. The principal question, 
then, to be considered, is the "modus operandi," in what 
manner the blessings of education can be best disseminated 
among the common and poorer classes of society, and how 
the least amount may be expended, for this purpose, so as 
to produce the greatest possible benefit. As there has 
always existed a great variety of opinions on this subject, 
so we find a number of different methods pursued to attain 
the same desirable end. In some of the States, common 
Schools are supported out of the proceeds of what is called 
the School fund ; in others, annual appropriations are 
made for this purpose by the Legislature. But, as yet, 
IsTorth Carolina may be said to have done almost nothing 

400 



Plan to Educate Teachers. 401 

in the advancement of so desirable an object as the estab- 
lishment of such a system of public education, as might 
extend its advantages through all classes of society. It is '.'"iversity expca- 

o o J w ve ; Literary 

true, she has established and liberally endowed a Univer- F"n<ismaii. 
sity, M'hich is a source of much credit to her, but the ex- 
penses attendant on tlie reception of an education there, 
are such as to prohibit all, except the comparatively 
wealthy, from obtaining such a one as it affords. — It is 
also true, she has established a ''literary fund," but such is 
the slow process made in the increase of its amount, and 
the obstructions attending its application to the proposed 
object so great, that in all probability, many years will 
elapse before its beneficial results will be felt by the peo- 
ple. It is for these reasons that it is thought proper to 
submit to your consideration a Plan, which seems to hold 
out a speedy prospect of realizing the benefits of public 
education, and yet not be attended with such an increase 
of the public tax as to render it burdensome to the people. 
It is but just to remark, that the following plan was, in 
some measure sua'gested by the remarks of Mr. Potter, Plan suggested 

'"'. Til-' '^i^Jl'ir to that of 

made a few years back m the Legislature, indeed, it is Robert Potter. 
a matter of some surprise, that the plan he then proposed, 
did not receive a more mature consideration from the Leg- 
islature, but it is supposed that it may be attributed to the 
violence of personal invective with which he clothed some 
part of his remarks, and thus, instead of calling the atten- 
tion of the House to the real subject of his address, un- 
necessarily raised a prejudice against his proposition. 

It is suggested for the promotion of the object now LoanofS2oooooto 
under 'consideration, that you, at the approaching session '^'^"^ °"* ^'''^"" 
of the Legislature, appoint a Committee to contract for a 
loan, to be made before the 1st Jan'y, 1830, on the credit 
of the State, of two hundred thousand dollars. Turn not 
away with alarm, at the mere mention of this large sum, 
but endeavor to restrain your feelings until you have been 

26 



402 Plan to Educate Teacheks. 

informed how it is to be paid, and for what object, and in 
what manner it is to be applied. 
Details of the plan ; There is little doiibt but that this sum could be obtained 

repayment of the 

loan: from caintalists at the rate of three and a half or four per 

cent, interest per annum : but for the sake of not making 
our calculation too small, we will say four per cent. The 
interest, then of the two hundred thousand dollars pro- 
posed to be borrowed, would annually amount to eight thou- 
sand dollars, for the payment of which, together with the 
gradual liquidation of the whole debt, the following plan 
is proposed. That the payment of the original amount 
borrowed, $200,000, be made at four different periods, 
regular intervals of time intervening, say $50,000 in 1835 ; 
$50,000 in 1840; $50,000 in 1845; and $50,000 in 1850: 
That to secure these paj^ments an annual sinking fund of 
$10,000 be established, to which such appropriations shall 
be added, as may be necessary from time to time, for the 
payment of the interest. 

According to this plan, the payments would be provided 
in the following manner : 

1st. Appropriated by the Leo;islature, 1st year, 

1830 $ 0,000 

2d. Otherwise jn'ovided, method will be after- 

Avards explained 9.000 

1st. As above— 2d year, 1831 12.000 

2d. As above 6,000 

1st. As above— 3d year, 1832 15,000 

2d. As above 3,000 

In the 4th and 5th years, 1833 and 4, the appropriation 
by the Legislature, will amount to $18,000 by this means, 
against the year 1835, the annual interest, together with 
$50,000 of the original debt will be paid. 

During the five succeeding years of 1835, 6, 7, 8, and 
9. the annual appropriation will amount to $16,000, to 
provide for the payment of the interest of the loan now re- 



Plan to Educate Teachers. 403 

diiced to $150,000, and the $16,000 of the annual sinking- 
fund. 

By the year 1840, another payment of $50,000 will be 
made, reducing the original debt to $100,000, so that the 
annual appropriation for the next succeeding five years 
will amount to $14,000. 

The original debt being then, say 1845, reduced to 
$50,000, the annual appropriation will be decreased to 
$12,000, and thus in 1850, the whole debt will be licpii- 
dated. 

If you have followed us through this tedious calcula- How the money is 

. to be spent. 

tion, by which we have provided for the loan and pajanent 
of $200,000, your curiosity will be excited to know in 
what manner we are to dispose of this large amount. We 
will endeavor to gratify this curiosity, and will be more 
than repaid, should you fortunately coincide with the 
views expressed. It is proposed that the $200,000 bor- 
rowed as above stated, be placed in a Loan Ofiice, estab- 
lished in the Treasury, and regiilated by the usual bank- 
ing system, or be deposited in some reputable bank, as your 
better judgment may direct. Although we do not profess 
to be well acquainted with the banking system and its 
profits, yet we feel little hesitation in saying, that by either 
of these methods it would secure a clear income of 6 i^er 
cent per annum, which would amount to $12,000. It is Twenty poor young 

' men to be educated 

farther proposed, that at the commencement of the sum- at university ; to 

\ '^ , . . . enter 1880. 

mer session of the University of North Carolina, in 1830, 
twenty poor young men, who have prepared themselves for 
joining the Freshman Class, but wliose parents are unable 
to assist them in the farther prosecution of their studies, 
be admitted into the University, and supported out of the 
income of $12,000 above mentioned, that the young men 
shall present their recommendations to a committee ap- 
pointed for the purpose of deciding the choice to be made 
out of all such as shall apply for admission, and that they 
(the twenty) shall only be admitted into the University 



404 



Pi.AN TO Educate Teachers. 



under such restrictions and conditions as you may deem 

ttiree'^'earrafter Proper. It is especially recommended that one of these 

graduation. conditions sliall be the requisition of a bond with good 

security from each of those admitted, that he should, after 

graduating, become the instructor of a Schoolin some part 

of the State, for two or three years, on such terms as would 

be sufficient to provide him with wearing apparel and 

boarding, say when boarding is furnished, as is usual with 

Twenty more poor such cases, a Salary of $100. In pursuance of the plan 

young men to enter > 

in 1831, and the proposed, at the Succeeding Commencement, in 1831, 

same number each i J- ' o 77 

a?uo teach ^^*'^' twenty Other young men would be admitted into the Uni- 
versity, under the same conditions and restrictions, and 
be supported in the same manner as the former, and so 
continue admitting twenty every succeeding Commence- 
ment. We feel no hesitation in asserting— indeed, we 
know from actual experiment, that a young man, entering 
the University under such circumstances as those above 
mentioned, could be well supported on one hundred and 
fifty dollars annually. In this calculation, the tuition, 
which, no doubt would be granted, free of expense, by the 
Trustees of the University, is not included, nor clothing, 
which, almost without exception, would be willingly fur- 
nished by a young man himself, or his friends. The ex- 
pense, then, of twenty young men, supported at the Uni- 
versity, will amount for the first year, 1830, allowing $150 
for each, to $3,000. This amount deducted from the 
$12,000 of annual income, leaves a balance of $9,000, 
which will be appropriated, as shown in the statement 
above, to the payment of the interest of the loan, and the 
increase of the sinking fund for 1830. The succeeding 
year, 1831, the number of students educated out of the 
annual income of $12,000 would be forty, whose expenses, 
according to the statement above made, would amount to 
$6,000, leaving $6,000 to be appropriated in the same 
manner as the $9,000 of the preceding year. In 1833 
the number of students would be sixty, their expenses 



Further details of 
the phin. 



Plan to Educate Teachers. 405 

$U,000 — balance to be apjDropriated as mentioned in tiie 
statement, $3,000. in 1834, the number of students 
would be eighty, whose expenses would take up the whole 
amount of the annual income of $12,000. In this year, 
too, twenty of the students — those who hrst entered the 
University — would graduate, and proceed to the perform- 
ance of the duties required by their bonds, and thus be- 
come instrumental, not only in disseminating the improve- 
ment they have derived from a liberal education, through- 
out the country, but would also be engaged in training up 
others, who, in their turn, would become students, gradu- 
ates and instructors. 

It will be seen, by a recurrence to the circumstances After is34 eighty 

11 1 c 1 -. o r. < • 1 V^>0T voung men 

mentioned above, that alter the year 1834, eighty poor wiiibe in ^ohooi 

' . , . , . . each year ; twenty 

young men will be constantly receiving their education m ieiivi"K to teach, 
the University, twenty of whom will annually graduate — 
this is repeated here, in order that you may keep constantly 
in view the importance of the object under consideration. 

We have thus endeavored, in as plain and concise a Askseamiid hear- 
manner as possible, to exhibit to you the plan which has sons or wealthy ' 

-I ^ • ^ 'ini ™'-'" ^^^'' '"'^ enter 

been the subiect of our thoughts, and which, with all due teaching profes- 
deference, is now submitted to your better judgment. We 
trust, however, if the plan should not meet with your ap- 
probation, you will not entirely condemn it, until after a 
candid examination of the arguments with which we now 
proceed to support a measure which is deemed by us of 
vital importance to the future welfare and respectability 
of the State. The young men who now receive a liberal 
education in this State, are generally the sons of wealthy 
men. ISTecessity, therefore, does not require, and inclina- 
tion seldom leads them, to undertake the tedious occupa- 
tion of "teaching the young idea how to shoot." The con- Native teachers 

n ■,•■,.' 1 . 1 . now often preach- 

seqnence ol Avnich is, that m most cases, the instructors ers and farmers 

also. Foreigners 

m our higher Schools and Academies are composed of unsatisfactory. 
Clergymen, who have, besides, their pastoral duties to 
perform, and can not, therefore, devote their time exclu- 



406 Plan to Educate Teachers. 

sively to teaching. We recollect, and have now every 
reason to regret, that onr preparatory education was re- 
ceived nnder an instructor, who followed the three em- 
ployments of pastor of a church, farmer and instructor ; 
and we have reason to believe such "Caleb Quotem" kind 
of men are found all over the State. In the alternative 
of not employing a clergyman as instructor, the people are 
compelled to depend upon foreigners, with whose character 
and qualifications they are entirely unacquainted, and who 
furnish, by the very circumstance of their being unsettled 
in their habitation, a prognostic of destitution of character, 
which too often turns out true. Were the plan of educat- 
ing twenty young men annually adopted, if they were re- 
quired to teach for two years — forty, and if the requisition 
extended for three years, sixty of these young men would 
be constantly employed in the schools throughout the State. 
This plan would Beiuff uativcs of the State, depending entirely upon their 

fm-nish many ex- ^ . , . . . i 7^ • i i 

ceiient native qwu cxertions for wealth and distinction, and furnished 

teachers. ' 

with recommendations according to their qualifications, by 
the Faculty of the University, the people might be con- 
stantly furnished with able instructors, under whose care 
they could confidently place their children. But if we 
have reason to lament the want of able instructors in the 
higher schools, with what language shall we express our 
Degraded condi- Tcgret at the degraded condition of the common schools 
schoi"''^""'^''' throughout the S^tate. If we visit one of what are, in the 
language of the country, called "Old Field Schools," we 
shall find a collection of children, most of whom are at 
that tender age, when 

"The mind impressible and soft, with ease 
Imbibes and copies what she hears and sees. 
And thro' life's labyrinth holds fast the clew 
That Education gives here, false or true;" 

yet over this interesting little band, we find placed, as 
pretended guardian of their morals, and assistant of their 



Plan to Educate Teachers. 407 

first efforts to tread the path of learning, a man, who is 
distingnished alike for his ridiculous igTiorance and vul- 
garity. Too indolent to obtain support in an active em- condition of the 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ _ primary scliools 

ploynient, too ignorant to be a proper judge of his quali- ■^•\'''[]''''';''«nedied 
fications, and too vulgar to know what constitutes decency 
and propriety in conduct — yet this man is he to whom 
parents are compelled to trust the formation of their chil- 
dren's character, or suffer them to grow up, their minds 
wild and uncultivated as the forests around them. Is it 
not the business of a Legislator to endeavor to alter such a 
state of things as this ? Shall he, to whom the people have 
delegated their rights, make no exertion to improve a situa- 
tion thus degraded ? Certainly none will be backward in 
pursuing the path that will lead to a reformation, when it 
is once pointed out to them. 

(To be concluded in our next.) 
— Raleigh Begister, Oct. 12, 1828. 

To file Members of the Approaching Session of the Legis- 
lature of North-Carolina. 

(Concluded.) 
It was before stated, that the vouno- men who were edu- ^'il'"'-^'.°w'^'^^t,„ 

' <-' o educated teiicners 

cated out of the fund appropriated for that purpose, should louo'iuSr.*^^ 
be required to teach for such a salary as would be sufficient 
for their boarding and clothing, say $200. The common 
salary now paid to a well qualified instructor varies from 
three hundred to a thousand dollars — it is so much in fact 
as to prohibit entirely the poorer classes of society from 
sending their children to the higher schools. 

]^ow when the whole amount to be paid would only xiiis low salary 

rf. • f 1 Till T -IT will enalile every 

amount to $200, if the expense should be divided among i^irent to pay the 

■"- ^ tuition charges, 

the whole number of employers there would be none so P''Jj';^'j')j-y*^^' *'" 
poor but who might give to their children a good educa- 
tion. But, if, as is most probable would be the case, the 
salary should be paid by the wealthy part of the commu- 



408 Plan to Educate TE^iCHEKS. 

nity, and the school opened to the admission of all classes, 
whose bosom so cold as not to glow with pleasure at the 
scene which would be presented. Groups '"of playful chil- 
dren just let loose from school" will be seen mingling 
together without any distinction of rank save that arising 
from the badge of merit which hangs on their heart. 
Blessed equality — happy country, when throughout the 
whole extent of the State all classes of children would be 
receiving from a well qualified instructor the elements of 
an education. A correct system of instruction would be 
diffused among the people. The little boys, animated with 
the hope of one day obtaining a collegiate education, would 
exert their opening faculties with all their ardor — emula- 
tion would be excited, and if all should not attain the goal 
of their desires, all would enjoy that improvement which 
results from the exercise of the talents with which a benefi- 
cent Creator furnished them. Besides, they would even 
obtain such an education as would qualify them to become 
respectable, if not distinguished members of society. And 
what is the price at which all this improvement may bo 
purchased ? A few thousand dollars annually paid for 
twenty years will render the blessing permanent — surely 
then, no further arguments would seem necessary to con- 
vince you as Legislators, of the propriety of securing, by 
the adoption of the proposed measure, such numberless 
Plan would exalt advantages to the State. Should the plan we propose be 
University. adopted, it will be well calculated to exalt the character 

of the University, and thereby contribute much to the 
respectability of the State. It will be unnecessary to in- 
form those who have been students of the University, that 
those who have to depend for their future subsistence and 
distinction entirely on their own exertions, generally com- 
pose the studious part of its members, and it is to them 
that we most commonly look for the men who are hereafter 
to adorn our State. It is true there are some creditable 
exceptions, but it may be stated as a general rule. If then 



Plan to Educate Teachers. 409 

this is the case now, when almost without an exception 
the students are furnished by their own parents with the 
means of support, how much more so will it be among 
tliose who will be entirely dependent on the State 'i 

Each one, besides the desire he may feel to advance his Teachers educated 

' -^ . . by the state will 

own improvement, will think himself under an obligation if^ei bound to reu- 

■■■ ' ° der good service. 

to exert his talents to the utmost in return for the great 
privilege affording him of obtaining a liberal education. 
Great emulation will thus be excited among the charity 
students to excel each other. The wealthy class ashamed 
to see themselves left behind in a literary career would 
be roused to exertion, and thus our University would in 
reality become what it should be, a place of study and im- 
provement. It seems proper that the reasons for dissent- piesont plan 

f r" -n,r T-> ? 1 Till 1 cheaper than 

mg from a part of j\ir. Potter s plan should here be men- Potter's plan, 
tioned. He proposed (if we recollect right for his speech 
is not at hand) that buildings should be erected and a kind 
of military gymnasium established for the education of 
indigent young men. In the establishment of such a school 
a large sum would be required to erect the necessary build- 
ings, a much larger amount would be requisite to supply 
appropriate philosophical apparatus, libraries and profes- 
sors which are necessary in a plan of education. The 
buildings of the University are now sufficiently commodi- 
ous to accomodate, w^ithout inconvenience, eighty more 
than the present number of students. 

The professorships are now filled by distinguished men, 
the philosophical apparatus is extensive, & the libraries 
are almost as large & well selected as could be desired for 
the purposes of education. Besides much time would 
elapse before the necessary buildings for the gymnasium 
could be erected and a regular system of education adopted, 
when by the means now pro^iosed the good work can be 
immediately commenced, and before the gymnasium of 
Mr. Potter could begin its exercise, by following our sys- 
tem, the State would be enjoyinij; the advantages derived 
therefrom. 



410 Plan to Educate Teachers. 

ifoniy twenty iK'w Were there no other advantage proposed to the State 
educated each than that which would necessarily follow the graduation of 

year, this would n r tt • 

cause competition twenty youiiff uion annuailv from our University, we 

for the scholarships J J >=> J . 

need be'seiecte'r ^hoiild think it amply sufficient to warrant the adoption 
by the Legislature of the proposed measure. There can' 
be no doubt that if the system is once properly put in 
operation, hundreds of young men w^ill annually make 
application to be admitted into the participation of its 
benefits. Such being the case, the committee appointed 
for that purpose could and would select out of the whole 
number of applicants, twenty who would be of distin- 
guished talents. — What may we not expect from such 
young men receiving a liberal education under such cir- 
cumstances ? In the heat of imagination kindled by the 
thought, and in the warmth of our zeal for the cause we 
advocate it seems that we already listen to their bursts of 
eloquence at the bar of our courts or in our legislative 
halls, dwell with pleasure on their poetical productions, 
study their scientific researches, or hear of their patriotic 
efforts to better the condition of their fellow beings. The 
system of public education now proposed does not promise 
us a nipre fleeting advantage: it is no momentary glance 
of sunshine which gilds every object then leaves us in 
utter darkness — no bubbling effervescence which dies away 
as soon as it is produced, but like the sun, which daily 
returns to warm, gladden and support us, its benefits will 
be as permanent as diffusive. Like the pure fountain 
which retains its transparency, and continues to bestow its 
delicious influence on surrounding objects, whether the sun 
is shining in meridian splendor, or tempests howl in the 
heavens — so this system, whether political factions shake 
the government to its centre, or peace sheds its gentle 
blessings over the land, will continue silently, slowly, but 
surely to produce its beneficial influence among all the 
future inhabitants of our State. 



Plan to Educate Teacheks. 411 

It may be asked liow young men are to prepare them- state aid for pre- 

... . . .. jiarins young men 

selves for admission into the University? Will it not be to enter university 

•^ not needed. 

required to extend assistance to those who are preparing 
to enjoy the charity of the State, as those who are already 
i^artaking of its benefits ? No, it is answered. Those who 
have observed the Academies and higher schools in our 
State, must know that there are many young men who do 
receive a preparatory education, but those whose parents, 
or those who have suj^portcd them thus far, are unable to 
extend their support through a collegiate course. Here 
then, the State should step in and lend a helping hand to 
assist the aspiring youth up the hill of education. If she 
does not, as is now the case, the young man without that 
improvement which results from passing through a regular 
course of education, studies a profession and enters the 
world as a quack-doctor or petty fogging lawyer. Let it 
not be sui^posed that no one can become an eminent phy- 
sician or attorney without receiving a collegiate education, 
is the idea intended to be conveyed. Facts would contra- 
dict such an assertion. But these eminent men will them- 
selves admit that they form an exception to a general rule, 
upon which rule we can alone act with certainty. — What 
a great advantage then it would be to the State, how ines- 
timable one to themselves, if the young men who, with 
such slender qualifications, enter upon the study of one 
of the learned Professions and drag out a listless life at 
its tail, should receive a regular education which is the 
stepping stone to higher attainments in legal, medical, or 
clerical knowledge. 

Such, gentlemen, are the considerations on this subject, 
which it has been thought proper to present to you as legis- 
lators — as men in duty bound to your constituents, to the 
State at large, to support these measures which will con- 
tribute to their welfare. It is known to you, that session Y.>u-h Legislature 
after session of the Legislature has passed away for many years'\vitiioutany 

. 1 • 1 1 • " measure enacted 

years back, without our being able to point to anv measure which iias i)een of 

people. 



412 . Plan to Educate Teachers. 

of much real benefit to the State. The Legislature has 
met, perhaps spent thirty thousand dollars annually — 
passed a few private acts — altered some public laws — so 
that taking all in all we are compelled to admit, however 
shameful the admission may be, that it would have been 
as well perhaps, if not better (for then our money would 
have been saved) had the Legislature not convened for the 
last ten years. Why have a legislative part of govermnent 
at all — why not let our Judges decide what may and may 
not be lawful — if the Legislature does not enter into the 
liberal consideration of those objects which are calculated 
to have an important bearing on the happiness and intelli- 
gence of the people ? We fondly trust however, that you 
will dispel that listlessness which is satisfied with the 
name of legislator without possessing any of its true char- 
acteristics — that you will no longer take part in that politi- 
cal fraud by which the people are deprived of their money 
without receiving any real advantage in return — that you 
will lend your aid in giving dignity to the Legislature, 
by introducing to its consideration subjects of real impor- 
Warning not to tauce and utility. Dispel then the idle fears (if any such 
thedeumggoul" you entertain) concerning your future election, and con- 
soling yourself with the consciousness of acting properly, 
and conferring a blessing on the State, resolve to step 
boldly forward as the advocate of those measures which 
your own intelligence must inform you will be beneficial 
to 3^oursclves, your constituents, and the inhabitants of 
the whole State. , 

"Great minds, like Lleaven, are pleased with doing good, 
Though the ungrateful subjects of their favor 
Are barren in return. * * *" 

We know that large appropriations made by the Legis- 
lature, for whatever purpose, are often used by political 
demagogues as bug-bears by which they hope to frighten 
the people so as to secure their own election. — But we 



Plan to Educate Teachees. 413 

trust there are none such among you — that you are only 
actuated by those pure motives of patriotism of whicli 
none need be ashamed, and which take as their guide the 
intelligence, prosperity and happiness of the people. 

There are yet other strone* motives to induce vou to Those receiving 

. . " tlie benefits of such 

adopt the measures which it is the obiect of the present a plan wiii consider 

•■■ J r those benefactors 

conununication to propose ; and although these motives "^'^^ enacted it. 
concern you more as individuals than as legislators, they 
are yet consistent with the purest dictates of patriotism. 
Should you in your wisdom adopt the measure, those who 
may hereafter derive benefit from it, will look' up to you 
as their benefactors — the page on which the passage of a 
bill embracing this measure is recorded, will often be re- 
ferred to, and the names of those who supported the meas- 
ure deeply imprinted on the memory of those who enjoy 
its advantages, & by means of which they in future will 
become the ornaments of their country. Will it not be 
a subject of pleasure to you to think, that when death 
shall have deprived you of any longer participation in the 
councils of your country, still you will be remembered as 
one of its benefactors ? Will not your bosom glow with 
patriotic pride, if, at some future period, you shall hear 
one of those who received an education by the assistance 
of your vote in passing the measure now proposed, delight- 
ing and convincing a Senate by the force of his eloquence 
or supporting the truths of the gospel with the wisdom 
and fire of a Paul ? Will it be an object of no considera- 
tion to you, that not only the present generation, but 
thousands yet unborn are to receive the happy benefits of 
your wise legislation, should you support the proposed 
measure ? Will it be said by you, that it is inconsistent 
with a patriot's wish, a patriot's duty, to become the means 
of dispelling the clouds of ignorance which hang over the 
State, and admitting the lights of education, which would 
continue to grow brighter and brighter, until their efful- 
gence would shine on everv inhabitant of the State? 



414 Plan to Educate Teacheks. 

It remains for you to decide these momentous questions 
iu a few weeks, and we fondly hope your decision may be 
such as to retiect honor on yourselves and secure innu- 
merable advantages to the State for which you legislate. 
Much more might be said on this interesting subject, and 
a great many other views taken of it ; but we fear we have 
already exhausted your patience ; if so, we can only plead 
in excuse, our own zeal on a subject which apjDears to us 
so very important. 

Oct. 6. S. 

Note. — In order to render the subject as little intricate 
as possible, it was thought best to omit in the statements 
of the payment of the loan, the interest which would ac- 
crue from the sinking fund, from the time it was appro- 
priated, at different periods, until it was really paid, in 
the liquidation of the debt. It may be mentioned here 
that it amounts to the important sum of $24,000. 

— Ealeigh Register, Oct. 17, 1828. 



2. GOY. IKEDELL'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

In June last, I received from the proper officers of the 
Treasury department of the United States the sum of 
twenty-two thousand dollars, the amount of the appropria- 
tion made by Congress to reimburse what has been ex- 
pended by this State in purchasing Cherokee reservations. 
This sum was immediately paid over to the Public Treas- 
urer, and has been by him transferred to the Literary 
Fund, according to the provisions of the act establishing 
that fund/ 

— House Journal, 1828-29, p. 139. 



' This is Gov. Iredell's only reference to education in his message 
of 1828. 



415 



3. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS RExMEDY FOR EMIGRATION. 

Question of inter- TJ^e subiect of Opening and improving our outlets to the 

nal improvements •' ±0 j. o ^ 

oftt'P jOefore the oceau, of removing obstructions in our rivers, and of pro- 
viding, by canals or roads, for the more convenient trans- 
mission of our produce to market, has so often engaged 
the attention of the Legislature, that I feel, v^hen I touch 
upon these topics, all the awkwardness of addressing you 
upon trite matters. Yet when I look at the situation of 
our State, I can not forbear urging upon you what has so 
often elicited the earnest reconunendation of my prede- 

state can not main- cossors. We uow occupv, f rom our population and terri- 

tain her present ^ 

position without ioY^ an elevated position among the States of the Union. 

improving lier in- J ^ J- & 

ternai condition, q^^^. relative rank can not be stationary, nor can it be 
maintained without exertions on our part. Almost ever)-- 
State is calling forth its powers to improve its internal 
condition. Shall we alone, who have such resources, and 
who could bring them into action by so small a compara- 
tive expenditure, shrink from the adoption of the means 
which are promoting the prosperity of others and leading 
to their superiority? Let us, too, press forward in the 
career of Internal Improvement. Let us, too, leave for 
the benefit and gratitude of posterity, memorials of that 
wise policy wdiich consists not in hoarding our money, but 
in applying it to useful and profitable objects. * * * 
Commerce would It wcre superfluous to dwell upon the happy effects on 
emigration would our prosperity, which would follow in the train of a judi- 

cease, and pojMila- . . c • i (• n . j A 

tion and wealth cious svstem 01 improvements, laithiullv executed. A 

would rapidlj- ad- ' 1 / f 

yaneeifasystemof j^p-^ life ^ould be infused iuto every branch of industry; 

internal improve- •' ^ 

adopted!^^^ our agriculture would be relieved from a heavy burthen, 

which now oppresses it ; our commerce would increase 
ten fold ; the tide of emigration would be checked ; and our 
population and wealth would advance with a rapidity 
equal to our most sanguine desires. Are we not prepared 
to commence such a system ? Why should we delay ? It 

416 



Remedy foe Emigration. 417 

will require much time for its completion, and the neces- 
sary expenditures will be divided among several years. 
You will discover, from the Treasurer's report that we Funds now avaiia- 

-1 1 T c 1 ■ 1 c 1 T ble; bonds could 

have a large available fund, not required for the ordinary be issued, 
expenses of Government, and not otherwise appropriated 
What this sum can not supply, may be furnished by our 
credit. Every other ■ State has resorted to loans for a 
similar purpose. The usual objection to loans, that it 
burthens posterity with a debt which we have contracted 
for our own advantage, does not here apply. The benefit 
will descend to our posterity with the burden, and will be 
more than a compensation. We are but tenants for life ; 
the estate will be theirs forever ; and it is but just that 
they should pay the greater part of what we may expend 
in its permanent improvement. 

- — From Governor James Iredell's Message to Legisla- 
ture of 1828-29, House Journal, 1828-29, pp. 136 and 137. 



27 



4. THIRD REPORT OF THE LITERARY BOARD.i 

To tlie Honorable the General i\.ssembly of North Caro- 
lina. 

The President and Directors of the Literary Fund, in 
obedience to the requisition of law, respectfully submit 
the following report. 

Receipts for the It appears froni the report of the Public Treasurer, 

which has been already submitted to you, that during the 
last fiscal year the receipts of this corporation have 

been $35,715.39 

And that the disbursements consisting entirely 
of the purchase of stock in the State Banks 
of Newborn and Cape Fear have amounted 
to the sum of 33,640.00 



year, 



Leaving a balance in cash in the hands of the 

Public Treasurer on the 1st day Nov. 1828, 2,075.39 

To which should be added the balance, due 
from the late Public Treasurer on the 1st 
of November 1827 28,184.32 

And the balance of the Agricultural fufid on 

the 1st of November 1828 251.624 



Size of the fund. 



$30,571,334 

The amount of the Literary fund therefore 
on the 1st of November 1828 may be stated as 
follows : 

Balance due from the last Public Treasurer. . $28,184.32 
Cash in the hands of the present Treasurer. . 2,075.39 
Balance of Agricultural fund on 1st Nov. 

1828 251.624 



^I have been unable to find this report in the records of the Liter- 
ary Board. This report was found among the Legislative documents 

of 1828. 

418 



ItEPORT OF Literary Board. 419 

78 shares of the State Bank stock purchased 

before the present year at its par value. . . 7,800.00 

204 shares of State Bank stock purchased dur- 
ing the last year, estimated at its par value 20,400.00 

141 shares in the Bank of JSTewbern, estimated 

as above 14,100.00 

50 shares of stock in the Bank of Cape Fear, 

estimated as above 5,000.00 

Showing an aggregate of $77,811.G2-| 

It will be recollected that the Board in their last annual Nothing lost by the 

shortage In the 

report contended and they thought successfully that no treasury. 
part of the deficiency in the Treasury should be chargeable 
to the Literary Fund. However that may be, the anxiety 
of the Legislature to procure this fund undiminished can 
not be doubted. The Board respectfully suggest as an easy 
mode of discharging the balance due to this corporation, 
which as above stated amounts to $28,184.32, that the 
Public Treasurer should transfer to the President and 
Directors of the Literary Fund, Bonds now in possession 
and taken at the sale of the late Treasurer's estate, the 
princij^al of which shall amount to that siun. As these 
bonds bear interest from their date, the Fund by this ar- 
rangement will sustain little loss from the suspension of 
so large a portion of its capital during last year. The 
Board have no other recommendation to make at this time, ^^^^^^ ^^^j ^^^^^ ^ 
except to urge a steady perseverance in the plan which is estfbiis^h^slhoois. 
now in operation and which promises at no very distant 
period to realize the benevolent and patriotic expectations 
of those with whom it originated. 

I have to be in behalf of the President and Directors 
With just consideration, your obedient servant, 

Jas. Iredell, 
Pres. Ex-0/ficio. 

Ealeigh, Dec. 1828. 



5. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY. 

Members of next Legislative. — * * On motion of Mr. Jones, of Ro"^- 

Legislature to wear 

homespun. . an, a resolution has been adopted by the House of Com- 
mons, recommending to the members of the next Legisla- 
ture to appear clothed in Homespun, for the purpose of 
encouraging domestic industry and promoting a spirit of 
economy in our State. 

— From Legislative Report, Raleigh Register, Dec. 16, 
J 828. 



420 



6. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

Senate: James Mebane, Orange; Henry J. G. Euffin, senate committee. 
Franklin ; Hardy B. Groom, Lenoir ; Thomas T. Hunt, 
Granville ; Abner Franklin, Iredell. 

— Senate Journal, 1828-29, p. 8. 

House: Josiah MoKeil, Chowan; John Pool, Pasquo- Ho^^e committee, 
tank; Thomas W. Blackledge, Beaufort; Josiah O. Wat- 
son, Johnston; E. B. Pierce, Halifax; Wm. J. Branch, 
Franklin ; Luke R. Simmons, Columbus ; William L. Hale, 
Brunswick ; Thomas Boykin, Sampson ; Malcolm Purcell, 
Robeson; ISTathaniel G. Smith, Chatham; Frederick Nash, 
Hillsborough ; George C. Mendenhall, Guilford ; William 
McLean, Cabarrus ; David T^. Swain, Buncombe ; Bartlett 
Shipp, I^incoln. 

— House Journal, 1828-29, p. 11^3. 



421 



7. SENATOR McFARLAND'S BILL TO EDUCATE POOR 
CHILDREN. 

The legislative history of this bill is as follows: 
Introduction of the Friday, Nov. 21, 1828. — Mr. McFarland^ presented 

bill in the Senate. „ „ i -n r. i n • c i i m i c i 

■^ " a bill for the education of the poor children of the 
State of North Carolina ; which bill was read the first 
time and passed ,' and * * was, on motion of Mr. Mc- 
Farland, referred to the committee on Education, and, on 
motion of Mr. Alexander", ordered to be printed, one copy 
for each member of the Legislature. 

— Senate Journal, 1828-29, p. 9. 



* Tryam McFarland, Richmond. 
^ Lawson H. Alexander, Cabarrus. 



, , Monday, Dec. 8, 1828. — Mr. Mebane,' from the Com- 

Journal record of j 7 7 ■> 

committee rerort. ^littce ou Educatioii, to whom was referred a bill to pro- 
vide for the education of the poor children of N^orth Caro- 
lina, reported the same without amendment," and the bill 
was made the order of the day for tomorrow. 

— Seimte Journal, 1828-29, p. 38. 



' James Mebane, Orang-e. 

'^This entry on the Senate Journal does not correspond with the 
written (unprinted) report of the committee. The committee 
recommended the indefinite postponement of the bill. 



Friday, Dec. 10, 1828. — The Senate entered on the 

Bill in committee i i ',- i n n i i ^ • i ,i i -m j? 

of the whole. orders of the day, and proceeded to consider tne bill for 

the education of the poor children of the State of jSTorth 
Carolina ; when, on motion of Mr. McFarland, the Senate 



Not taken up on December 9 as first ag'reed. 

422 



]\IcFar land's School Bill. 423 

resolved itself into a committee of the whole on said bill, 
Mr. Hinton' in the Chair ; and, after some time spent 
therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the Chair, and Mr. Hinton 
reported that the committee of the Whole House had in- 
structed him to I'eport the hill for the education of the 
poor children of the State of !North Carolina, with an 
amendment, to-wit : to strike out the first section of the 
bill. The Senate proceeded to consider the report of the 
committee of the Whole, and the question to concur in the 
proposed amendment being stated, on motion of Mr. Bin ana amend- 

cn 1 •> 1 1 -n 1 • 1 1 n c i ments iiulefinitely 

Snober," the bill together with the amendment of the com- postponed, 
mittee of the Whole, was indefinitely postponed. 

— Senate Journal, 1828-29, p. 70. 



^ Charles L. Hinton, Wake. 

^ Emanuel Shober, Stokes. 



In the Senate, ]S[ov. 21st 1828. — Read the first time and cierks entry: 
passed and on motion of Mr. McFarland referred to the 
Committee on Education, and on motion of Mr. Alexan- 
der, ordered that it be printed one copy for each member. 



A Bill for the Education of the Poor Children of „^ ^.,, 

The bill. 

North Carolina. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
Xorth Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by authority of 
khe same, that from and and annuallv „ , , , . 

' " Proceeds of Liter- 

thereafter, the Public Treasurer shall hand over to the ^f^;^^^^^^"^ ^pp'""- 
County Trustee of each county in this State the portion of 
the public money, which may be coming to each of their 
respective Counties from the Literary Fund, which has 
been set apart by the Legislature of this State for Educa- 
tion ; and that each County shall be entitled to draw from „. , .^ , ^ , 

<-' Distributed to 

said fund an amount agreeable to the population and taxa- l'i?"i'\o%\"u!ation 

and taxation. 



424 McFarland's School Bill. 

tion of said County ; and on payment to each of these re- 
spective sums the Treasurer shall take bond with good 
Security, payable to the Governor, in double the amount 
paid said Trustee, for the faithful performance of his 
duty : And further, the Treasurer of this State shall take 
a receipt for the amount paid to the Trustee of each 
County, which shall be a good voucher and allowed him in 
his annual settlement. 
Commissioners to Be it further enacted, that at the first County Court 

each faiitain'sdis- held in eacli County in this State after 

iiniiii"! "1 1 1- it shall be the duty of each and every County Court in this 

children. '' . 

State, and annually thereafter, to appoint two or more 
discreet persons as Commissioners in each Captain's Dis- 
trict of said County, whose duty it shall be to ascertain 
the number of poor children in each of said Captain's 
district who are without the means of paying for their 
Education ; and said Commissioners thereon shall sub- 
scribe or cause to be sent said j^oor children to any school 
in five miles distance from the place of residence of said 
child or children, if the situation will admit ; and it shall 
Commissioners to be the duty of Said Commissioners to pay for the tuition 

pay tuition of poor . ^ • f imi 

children. of Said children, and take a receipt from the ieacher or 

Trustee of said school or schools for the amount paid ; 
specifying the name of each person and the amount of 
tuition, and the length of time : and the said Commission- 
ers, appointed as aforesaid, may call at any time during 
the year for payment from the Trutsee for the amount 
which is due them for payment of tuition : Provided said 
amount does not exceed the amount set apart for each 
County. 

Be it further enacted, that said Commissioners shall 
give bond in double the sum, payable to the County Trus- 
tee, for their faithful performance. 

Be it further enacted, that no child or persons educated 
shall be paid for any unreasonaHe time ; and that no com- 
missioner shall pay for forwarding the education of any 



Comniissioners to 
give bond. 



McFarland's School Bill. 425 

person, further than Keading, Writing, English Grammar course of study. 
and Arithmetic. 

Be it further enacted, that the amount now on hand, 
exclusive of Bank or other Stock, shall be divided the 
ensuing year among each County. 

And be it further enacted, that the Commissioners' an- Reports to Legis- 

. rn lature. 

nual report to the Trustee of their County, and the Trus- 
tee to the Treasurer, and the same to the Legislature of 
said State, a full and fair Copy of their proceedings. 

Committee Report on Above Bill. 
The Committee to whom was referred "A Bill to pro- F"°'^ t"o '^m'^"- 
vide for the education of the poor children of North Caro- 
lina" Report, that they have had this Bill under their 
consideration, and notwithstanding they approve its pro- 
visions, yet they are of opinion that the disposable part of 
the fund denominated the literary fund is at this time, 
too small to be distributed in the different counties of this 
State, and produce any valuable effect, they therefore beg 
leave to return said Bill to the House, and recommend Recommends 

' _ postponement. 

that the further consideration thereof be postponed in- 
definitely. 

Respectfully submitted, 

James Mebane, Chairman. 

In Senate December 19th 1828. Taken up and on mo- clerk's entry on 

• the bill. 

tion of Mr. McFarland ordered to be committed to a com- 
mittee of the Whole House, and reported therefrom bv 
Mr. Hinton with an amendment, and on motion of Mr. 
Shober the Bill together with the amendment was post- 
poned indefinitely. 



House resolution 
to require report 
of funds of the 
University. 



Referred to the 
Committee on 
Education. 



House resolution 
about educating 
poor children. 



8. HOUSE BESOLUTIONS ON EDUCATION. 

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1828. — Eesolved that the Committee 
on Judiciary enquire what further provision ought to be 
made by law in order to make it the duty of the Trustees 
of the University to make an annual report to the Legis- 
hiture of the State and condition of that institution, the 
value of any property they may receive from individuals 
by donation or otherwise, the property either real or per- 
sonal which they may recover by virtue of the laws now in 
force vesting certain escheated property in them, how 
much they have recovered, how much they have sold, what 
it sold for, in what way they have disposed of it, what 
property remains on hand in money or otherwise, and 
that the Committee report by bill or otherwise/ 

The question to concur with the reference of said resolu- 
tion was disagreed to ; and, on motion of Mr. Fisher,^ it 
w^as referred to the Committee on Education. 

—House- Journal, 1828-29, p. 153. 



' Introduced by Abner N. Vail, of Washington. 
* Charles Fisher, Salisbury. 



On motion of Mr. Earnhardt,^ 

Resolved, That the -Committee on Education be in- 
structed to inquire into the expediency of a^jpropriating a 
part of the Literary fund for the education of the poor 
and indigent children in the several counties in this State, 
and that they report a plan to carry the same into effect ; 
either by bill or otherwise. 



-House Journal, 1829-29, p. 190. 



'Introduced by John C. Earnhardt, of Cabarrus, Dec. 15, 1828. 



426 



9. HOUSE REPOKT ON EDUCATION. 

Saturday, Dec. 27, 1^28. — Mr. A'asli,^ from the Judi- Laws sufficient to 

require reports 

eiarv" Committee, to whom were referred certain resolu- *>''"i ^'"V'^'i';*!ty ; 

•^ rtskeil to be uis- 

tions requiring them to in(|uire what further provision l^Jaerfuilro^Vi^^^^ 
ought to be nuide by hiw, in order to make it the duty of ;il|| p^or ciiitS.^ 
the trustees of the University to make to the Legishiture 
an annual report of the funds of that institution, and of 
its situation ; and also to inquire into the expediency of 
approjiriating a part of the Literary Fund for the educa- 
tion of poor and indigent children in this State, reported 
that the committee, on examining the laws heretofore 
passed on the subject embraced in the first resolution, find 
that they are amply sufiicient, and that further legislation 
on the subject is unnecessary; upon the second resolution 
the committee had turned its attention, and instructed him 
to ask that they be discharged from the further considera- 
tion thereof. The question to concur with the report was 
determined in the afiirmative. 

— House Journal, 182S-29, p. 



^ Frederick Nash, Hillsborough. 

2 This is evidently a mistake, as both resolutions were referred to 
the Committee on Education. 



MR. ^^ASH'S REPORT. 
The Committee on Education to whom was referred cer- ^o legislation 

,. 1.. .. .1 .. . 1 j_ p j_-\ needed to require 

tain resolutions requiring them to inquire what further reports from uni- 

vcrsity. 

provisions ought to be made by law in order to make it 
the duty of the trustees of the University to make to the 
Legislature an annual report of the funds of that institu- 
tion and of its situation ; and also to enquire into the 
expediency of appropriating a part of the Literary Fund 
for the education of poor and indigent children in this 
State. Having had the same under consideration, report 

427 



428 Nash's Repokt. 

That u|<on cxamiiiiug stveral Acts of the General Assem- 
bly heretofore passed upon the subject tmbraced in the 
first resolution, they find that the law has already made 
amjDle and sufficient provisions and that no further legis- 
Literary Fund too latiou on the subiect is necessary. Upon the second resolu- 

small to enteron "* ox 

of edifclfior-^ hope ^^*-*^ ^^^^ would report that in their ojjinion the fund set 
c(^e^vhen°poor apart for literary purposes is yet too small to justify the 

children can be t • i , • , • , • i , • 

educated. Legislature m entering upon an active and extensive sys- 

tem of educatiim. They hope that the time may come 
when those who sit in the seats now occupied by them will 
have the high gratilication of assisting in expelling from 
our country that moral and intellectual darkness which 
now broods over it, when the children of the poor and in- 
digent, shall equally participate with those of the wealthy 
in all the blessings of Civil Govermnent. This is a sub- 
ject of deep interest to us all and upon which your Com- 
mittee have reflected with much anxiety ; — grateful for 
that portion of education with which they have been fa- 
voured, they are anxiously desirous that others shall en- 
joy the same blessing. And while they deplore the neces- 
sity of still delaying the great and good work, they cor- 
dially and fervently unite in the prayer that a kind 
Providence will hasten the time when literary, moral and 
religious instruction shall pervade our country, — when the 
portals of science shall be thrown open to the child of the 
poorest and most indigent of our citizens, — when all shall 
feel the fostering care of our common country. They pray 
to be discharged from the further consideration of the sub- 
jects referred to them. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

F. Nash, Chm. 

— From Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1828-29. 



10. PROCEEDINGS OF LITERARY BOARD. 

A meeting of the President and Directors of the Liter- 
ary Fund was held at the house of Chief Justice Taylor 
on the 18th day of September 1828 

Present 

James Iredell^ Gov. & Prest. 

Chief Justice Taylor. I t-.. 

' ,'- Directors. 
Wm. Kobards, Treasr. ] 

The Treasurer reported that he had since the 1st day of investment of 

^ _ "^ funds. 

July last purchased for the Literary Fund one hundred 
and forty one shares of ISTewbern Bank Stock at Eighty per 
cent. Fifty shares of Cape Fear Bank Stock at Eighty 
per cent and five shares of State Bank Stock at Ninety per 
cent and that there was still a balance in his hands belong- 
ing to the Literary Fund and ready to be invested — where- 
upon it was Resolved that the purchases of stock now re- 
ported by the Treasurer be confirmed by this Board, and 
that he be directed to vest in stocks of the said Banks at 
the rate above mentioned to wit IsTewbern at Eighty, Cape 
Fear at Eighty and State Bank at Ninety per cents, the 
remainder of the money belonging to the Literary Fund 
or so much as can be vested without detriment to the gen- 
eral operations of the Treasury of the State. 
The Board then adjourned. 

— MS. Records lAterary Board. 



429 



18^9 

1. X's OPEN LETTER AGAINST SCHOOLS AND INTERNAL liVI- 

PROVEIVIENTS. 

2. DR. CALDWELL ON OPPOSITION TO TAXATION. 

3. GOV. OWEN'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

4. KINNEY'S "PLAN OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS." 

5. COiVllVIITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

6. McFARLAND'S BILL TO EDUCATE POOR CHILDREN. 

7. LOAN ASKED FOR EDENTON ACADEMY. 

8. WHAT OTHER STATES ARE DOING FOR COMMON SCHOOLS. 

9. NEGLECT OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 



430 



1. X's OPEN LETTER AGAI:NST SCHOOLS AND INTERNAL 
IMPROVEMENTS. 

To the members of the approaching legislature : 

What need have we of additional Roads and Canals ^ ^^-QJJgy^^fJ^^QJ.^. 
Have we not enough of them now. 'i Cannot a man go from JSesenTcwidutons 
place to place, whithersoever he will without obstruction ? ou? faXerf 
and what more could he do, were the whole State cut up 
into roads and by-paths^ * * If a person can not 
find his way, as things are, let him make use of his tongue 
and inquire. But we must forsooth have better ways of 
getting our produce to market. The present accommoda- 
tions suited well enough our fathers, and they became rich 
in their use ; and it is quite doubtful if, with greater fa- 
cilities, we should be any better off an hundred years hence. 
I trust your wisdom will be, as your wisdom has been here- 
tofore, decidedly against innovations and alterations, under 
the specious disguise of improvements. 

You will probably be asked. Gentlemen, to render some Hopes no assistance 
little assistance to the University of our State. But I urnVfrnu?" ^^'^ 
hope you will strenuously refuse to do this likewise. It is 
respectfully submitted to the wisdom above mentioned, 
whether our good old-field schools are not abundantly suffi- 
cient for all our necessities. Our fathers and mothers 

Old field schools 

looo-ed alone; uncomplaininglv without colleges: and lone go"d enou^'h : no 

J ff'O r^ i o ^ o ? ^, colleges needed. 

experience proves them to be very expensive things. The 
University has already cost the people not a little ; and the 
good it has accomplished thus far is extremely doubtful ; if 
I might not rather allege it to have been productive of 
mischief. College learned persons give themselves great „ r * i ■ 

^ i t' " Course of study 111 

airs, are proud, and the fewer of them w^e have amongst ^"Jg^fg^ac^^^^'' ^" 
us the better. I have long been of the opinion, and trust 
you will join me in it, that establishments of this kind are 
aristocratical in their nature, and evidently opposed to the 
plain, simple, honest matter-of-fact republicanism, whicli 

431 



432 Opein^ Letter Against Schools. 

ought to flourish among us. The branches of learning cul- 
tivated in them are, for the most part, of a lofty arrogant 
and useless sort. Who wants Latin and Greek and ab- 
struse mathematics in these times and in a country like 
this ? Might we not as well patronize alchymy, astrology, 
heraldry and the black art ? * * * In the third 
place, it is possible, but not very likely I confess, that you 
may be solicited to take some steps with regard to the estab- 
The measure to lishment among us of common schools. Should so redicu- 

establisli common . . . 

schools ridiculous, lous a measure be propounded to you, you will unques- 

Times very hard. . _ -^ -^ _ did x 

tionably, for your own interest, as well as that of your 
constituents, treat it with the same contemptuous neglect 
which it has ever met with heretofore. Common schools 
indeed ! Money is very scarce, and the times are unusually 
hard. Why was such a matter never broached in better 
Schools we now and more prosperous days ? Gentlemen, it appears to me 

have not all tilled. rr- • i i -\ ^ ^ ^ 

Too much ado tiiat schools are sumciently plenty, and that the people 

about education. _ ./ x ./ ^ x x ^ 

have no desire they should be increased. Those now in 
operation are not all filled, and it is very doubtful if they 
are productive of much real benefit. Would it not re- 
dound as much to the advantage of young persons, and to 
the honour of the State, if they should pass their days in 
the cotton patch, or at the plow, or in the cornfield, instead 
of being mewed up in a school house, where they are earn- 
ing nothing ? Such an ado as is made in these times about 
Not necessary that cducatiou, surcly was uover heard of before. Gentlemen, 

every bodv be able -^i -, , .., n, ,n, 

to read, write and 1 hope you do uot couceive it at all necessary, that every- 

ciplicr, 

hody should be able to read, write and cipher. If one is 
to keep a store or a school, or to be a lawyer or physician, 
such branches may, perha'ps, be taught him ; though I do 
not look upon them as by any means indispensable : but if 
he is to be a plain farmer, or a mechanic, they are of no 

plain farmers and 

mechanics do not manner of use, but rather a detriment. There need no 

need education. 

arguments to make clear so self-evident a proposition. 
Should schools be established by law, in all parts of the 
State, as at the ISTorth, our taxes must be considerably in- 



Open Letter Against Schools. 433 

creased, possibly to the amount of one per cent, and six- 
pence on a poll ; and I will ask any prudent, sane, saving 

man if he desires his taxes to be higher 'i 

* * -H- * * * * 

You will doubtless be told that our State is far behind Makes no difter- 
her sisters in things of this sort, — and what does this prove ? behind our sister 

HIT 1 1 1 If 1'1-T-c states ; able to 

Merely, that other states are before us : which is their at- govern ourselves 

^ , without reference 

fair, and not ours. We are able to govern ourselves with- toothers, 
out reference to other members of the confederation ; and 

. 1 11 1 Ahead of others 

thus are we perfectly independent. We shall always have because our taxes 

i^ -J i- _ ^ are lighter. 

reason enough to crow over them, while we have power to 
say, as I hope we may ever have, that our taxes are lighter 
than theirs. 



— X in Raleigh RegiMer, Nov. 9, 1829. 



28 



2. DK. CALDWELL ON OPrOSITION TO TAXATION. 

Three centuries As we HOW are, and with such plans as we now practice, 

behind in educa- 
tion and improve- we correspond in public improvements and in popular edu- 
cation, not with the nineteenth century, but with three cen- 
turies ago. (Jan we, as a population, continue to endure a 
thought like this 'I 

But it will be asked, What then are the means by which 
you will propose to commence a system of internal im- 
provement 'i Have you the intrepidity to recommend tax- 
ation to a people who hold it in such abhorrence, and on 
whose nerves of revolting sensibility candidates for the 
Legislature and for public offices, well know how to strike 
tones of harmony, at once delightful to the people's ear, 
and to themselves in consequent assurance of their own 
No man who op- ©lection. To this question I have but one answer, and 

poses a moderate ■"■ 

tax for improve- there can be only one. To no purpose can that man claim 

ments can claim to '^ ir r 

cause^"^"*^ "^ *^^ ^^ ^6 ^ friend of internal improvement, and to the public 
good, who avows opposition to so moderate a tax as is nec- 
essary to carry it on. As well might he make pretensions 
to be my friend, when he sees me without strength and 
perishing with thirst, while he denies me water in my 
extreme necessity. 

Taxation contrary We sometimcs hear it asserted, that 'Taxation is contrary 

to republican , -i • r^ mi • 

government a fatal to the ffeuius of a Tiepublican Government. This is a 

delusion. '=' ^ 

radical error, and however captivating to many, he who 
persuades them of its truth, is but using his efforts to 
fasten upon them a radical and fatal delusion. It is not 
the genius of a Republic that no taxes should be raised, but 
that no tax should be levied except by the people them- 
selves. To induce the people to give up taxation totally, 
as though it belonged not to a popular government, is but 
asking their consent and determination to be tied hand and 
foot, and to yield themselves without remedy and without 
hope to every species of adversity. Of this we are now 
furnishing a most impressive example. * * * 

434 



Caldwell on Opposition to Taxation. 435 

In every nation that would be free, with opportunity to Every man should 

" . . . . . not hesitate to try 

have the voice of its people heard, through its constitution to mould public 

r ^ ' " oinnion on this 

and its laws, the voice of the majority must be the supreme question, 
law of the land. But while on this point, there can be no 
doubt, it is equally certain, that in a popular State like 
ours, every individual not only has the right, but is bound 
in conscience, so far as he would have an influence in so- 
ciety, so to modify the public voice, that its decisions may 
be on behalf of what he sincerely believes to be for the 
good of his country. We know well that multitudes must 
egregiously and shamlessly trifle with these subjects both 
among the people and even in legislative body, to which 
we ought to look for sober wisdom, and a deep sense of the 
responsibility which they have voluntarily incurred to 
their conscience, their country, and to God • * * * 
and he who sincerely believes that an opinion of the people 
is erroneous, and pernicious in themselves, and yet with , , , 

' ^ ' •■' Who the real 

selflshness and flatterv, seeks by all his artifice and zeal to euemiesofthe 

*■' *j peopje are. 

plunge them more deeply into error that he may secure 
their favor, gives incontestable proof of his disqualifica- 
tion for the trust. * * * 

— Dr. Joseph Caldwell before Internal Improvements 
Convention, Dec. 22, 1829. Published in Raleigh Begis- 
ter, Feb. 4, 1830. 



3. GOV. OWEN'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



The University our 
only school in 
which we can take 
any pride. 



This school needs 
aid : the Literary 
Fund might be 
loaned to the 

trustees. 



The enlightened liberality of the framers of our Consti- 
tution, and the Legislature of an early day, have done 
much for the cause of learning, by establishing an institu- 
tion in the center of our State, in which the higher 
branches of science are taught as successfully as in any 
similar institution in our country, and is the only monu- 
ment of learning within the State of North Carolina, to 
which the eye of the stranger or the citizen patriot may be 
directed, with any emotions of pride and patriotism. It 
will at once be understood that my allusion is to our Uni- 
versity. Much remains however to be done, towards per- 
fecting and giving permanency to this institution ; and its 
situation at this time calls more loudly for legislative inter- 
position and patronage, than at any former period of its 
existence. Its funds which promise at some future day to 
be equal to its necessities, are yet locked up beyond the 
reacli of those, to whose guardianship it has been com- 
mitted by the Legislature ; and this institution, proudly 
claimed by some of our most distinguished citizens as their 
alma mater, is permitted to languish, for the means which 
it is deemed within the power of the Legislature to fur- 
nish, without injury or even hazard to the State. A con- 
siderable sum of money which has been appropriated te 
the establishment of a Literary Fund, has not yet been in- 
vested in any of the banks of the State, and the commis- 
sioners charged with its management, have determined to 
purchase no more bank stock. It is then respectfully sub- 
mitted to the Legislature, how far it may be advisable, and 
whether it is not within the le<ritimate object of the Legis- 
lature which created this fund, to authorize the commis- 
sioners to loan to the trustees of the University from time 
to time, anv part or the whole of the monies thus appro- 
priated, which have not been applied to the purchase of 

436 



Gov. OwEx ON Education. 437 

stock, tiikiiig their Ixuul with such interest as may be 
agreed upon, or fixed h_v the Legislature, for the repayment 
of the same. 

Tlie im])ortanee (jf preservini>- in a tlonrisliinu condition Advantages of 

' ^ ^ o having the Uni- 

such a seminary within onr own borders, is obvious. It "^'"'sity- 
prevents a large amonnt of money from being disbursed 
aln'oad and among strangers — our young men are saved 
from forming prepossessions in favor of foreign seminaries 
and foreign manners — they are enalded to study with more 
effect the political institutions of the State — imbibe a 
greater reverence for whatever is good and virtuous among 
ourselves — ^and avoid a prejudice against that state of so- 
ciety which we now have in the Southern States, and which 
must be, much as we may deprecate it, coexistent with the 
Union. 

The influence of early education upon the well being of j,^^,,r,rtaneo of 
society, and upon the present and future happiness of the *^'"''^' edueation. 
human race is admitted by every enlightened nation of 
the earth; and the responsible duty of disseminating it, 
devolves with peculiar force upon the statesman and legis- 
lator. So completely is the formation of character under 
its control, that every effort should be made to direct the 
virtuous energies of the mind, both by moral and intel- 
lectual education, into paths of usefulness. And that the 
standard, both of learning and virtue, may be more ele- 
vated, a system of public education should be adopted, by 
which the thousands of the rising generation in our State, 
who stem doomed to a life of ignorance, if not of folly and 
vice, without the fostering care of the Legislature, shall be 
able to acquire knowledge of the most useful kind — their 
tender minds trained to a love of order and virtue — and 
where industry and a reverence for the laws, shall be duly 
inculcated. 

In the present enlightened age of the world, when the ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ 
fa^'orite schemes of the philanthropist throughout the provi,u^'iu'fwi\^^ 
habitable globe, seems to be the bountiful distribution of cation'!'^"'^ " "^ " 



438 



Gov. Owen on Education. 



The subject of 
education often 
brought to the 
attention of the 
Legislature. 



Kinney's plan. 



What other States 
are doing. 



knowledge, wheiever there is human intellect to receive it; 
and under the improved modes and methods of instruction, 
which have been introduced into the primary schools both 
of Europe and America, contributing so much to the ease 
with which elementary learning may be acquired, let us no 
longer permit the youth of our State, to launch upon the 
ocean of life, tliere to shape their course without at least, 
the rudiments of science. 

In proportion to the ease with which an education may 
be acquired in other countries and the facilities afforded 
by their governments for this purpose, so should we feel 
its importance among ourselves : and with an enlightened 
wisdom, peculiarly characteristic of the present age, should 
]S"orth Carolina attest her belief in these principles by a 
liberal provision for the education of her children, until 
the development of intellect and the establishment of truth 
sliall have placed us equally above the reach of civil tyr- 
anny, and ecclesiastical usurpation. The vast importance 
of this subject, has frequently claimed for it the considera- 
tion of the Legislature — and a report upon it by some of 
the most distingiiished citizens of the State, under a reso- 
lution of the Legislature of 1824, will be found among the 
archives of the State. Accompanying this communication 
will also be found a plan for the establishment of primary 
schools in North Carolina, submitted by a gentleman^ 
whose opportunities for observing the practical operation 
of the public schools of the northern States, entitle his 
opinions to influence, and the benevolence of the attempt 
to adapt them to the peculiar situation of his adopted State, 
will secure to him the gratitude of its citizens. 

T have also been enabled to procure and herewith trans- 
mit you, an account of the common schools in l^ew Jersey, 
and the School svstem of iSTew York, Connecticut, "Rhode. 
Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, 'New Hampshire and 
Maine. These several documents are believed to contain 



' Charles R. Kinney. 



Gov. Owen on Education. 439 

the fullness of information upon this most interesting sub- 
ject, calculated to shed all necessary light on the path of 
the Legislature, in regulating this important branch of our 
public economy. 

— House Journal, 1828, pp. lJf7-lJf8. 



North Carolina has 
as iiiuiiy college 
Sraihuitcs as any 
State excfjit one ; 



4. KINNEY'S " PLAN OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS." 

Importance of ^^^ ^'^^^ importance of a general dissemination of edu- 

toi"fhow°to obtain cation IS SO universally admitted as to require no comment. 

schools the vital ,, , . ^- ,•,■,, i ■ , ^ ^^ ■ ^i , • . 

question now. 1 lic Only qucstion oi dilliculty IS liow to attain tne object. 
The plan i propose has for its object only common schools, 
in wliich shall be taught the ordinary branches, such, of 
course, as would fit a man for mercantile pursuits. And, 
indeed, 1 think such information more immediately neces- 
sary in our iState than further endowments of the univer- 
sity. In proportion to our population, I suppose, this 
State can number as many of collegiate education as any 

comni(m^scrio.'!is' oue iu the Uuion with perhaps the exception of South 
■Carolina. But in the common branches of education, 
there is certainly a lamentable, I had almost said a crim- 
inal want. To correct an evil it is first necessary to un- 
derstand its true character. It is generally supposed that 
the poverty of the citizens is so great as to preclude the 

Not too poor to possibility of general education. This is certainly not so, 

establish schools; ^_ -^ o J > 

good teaciiers, siiicc maiiy couiitries with a much poorer peasantry than 

houses and unity ' ^ ^ •' 

of ettbrt needed. Q^j.g ^y.^ yastly better informed. I believe the difficulties, 
on strict examination, will be found to be, first, a want of 
good teachers, or rather inducements sufficient to engage 
such as are competent in the task. A want of houses suit- 
able for the purpose and properly located ; Lastly, a con- 
centration of the ability of each district to a single object. 

Plan in brief: To begin with the last of these first, I propose to pass 

counties divided p a ii i • • i 

into districts, com- an act of Assembly authorizino: the county court of each 

initteemen ap- • ^- ^ 

pointed, corporate county to divide their several counties into districts of not 
more than miles square, and to give to these dis- 
tricts corporate powers to an extent which will be hereafter 
seen. And also to authorize the county court to appoint 
a committee which I denominate the school committee, 
who shall have power to examine all teachers without 
whose certificate of good character and ability, they shall 
not be permitted to teach in the district houses. 

440 



powers given 
districts. 



Kijsti^ey's Plan for Schools. 441 

I propose then to aiilliorize the county court to appoint each district "dis- 

, ,. . , . trict to have power 

some proper man m each district lor a committee or trus- to levy a school tax 

to huilil house and 

tee for that district. Ilim, for distinction, I call the dis- employ a male and 

' ' a female teacher 

trict committee. He shall be authorized to give notice for f^^'ir months each 
a meeting of the people of the district ; which meeting, 
when so called, shall be authorized to tax th^ district not 

exceeding per $100, for the purpose of erecting 

a school house at some convenient central situation in the 
district. And if the inhabitants of the district cannot 
agree upon its location, the county court shall, on the appli- 
cation of the district committee, appoint three men with- 
out the district to fix the scite. The meeting so called 
shall also be authorized in like manner annually to tax 

themselves not exceeding per $100, for the pay 

and support of a male teacher four months, and a female 
the same time. This tax to be assessed upon the general 
tax list, and the district committee invested with the same 
power of collection as the sheriff now has. This I believe 
embraces my whole plan ; but you will ask my reasons for 
it, and an answer to some obvious objections. 

The character of the teachers in the country is proverbi- Teachers usually of 

liad character ; 

ally and iustly bad, notwithstanding some honorable ex- ?uf?iit to be exam- 
■^ •' ^ ^ '^ ined by committee. 

ceptions. They usually consist of men unfit for anything 
else. An improvement is certainly necessary, and a proper 
selection of the committee by the court, will, I think, cor- 
rect this evil. The proper time to send children, and more 
especially boys, to school is during winter ; but this cannot 
be done without comfortable houses. When the houses comfortable 

houses. 

are built, and the teacher employed, all the children within 
the district shall be permitted to attend. 

I had foro'otten to invest the district committee with the committee to have 

_ ' . power to employ 

power of hiring the teacher subject to the approval of the teachers, 
school committee. With respect to the success of the plan, 
I have unmasked, that in most, perhaps I had better say in 
manv parts of the country, a majority is to be found, who 
would willingly pay a liberal compensation for the benefit 



442 XiiVney's Plan hon ISchools. 

of a school ; but yet the charge is usually too onerous to 
be borne by anything short oi the whole. Ihis plan au- 
thorizes a majority to compel the balance to contribute. 
Objection answer- fehouiu it be ui'gecl that the man who paid the largest tax 
taxeii for tile iien- might liavc iio children to educate, and that he would iliere- 

etit of another. , . . . 

lore derive no beneht, or that the privilege should be pro- 
portional to the amount of the tax, and that the poor man 
with a large family would pay little, and receive much 
benefit; the answer is, that, in legislation, pecuniary bur- 
thens must, and can be borne only by those who are able to 
pay. The rich are frequently taxed for the benefit of the 
poor, as the blood of the poor is too frequently spilt to 
preserve the inheritance of the rich. We legislate for 
society in the state in which it actually exists, and not as 
we would wish it to be. Again, altho' for a few years one 
man would receive no benefit from the existence of a school 
in his district, in all probability a few years would change 
the scene, and he may be amply remunerated for the sums 
thus expended by a change of circumstances. Once more 
— as things now stand, the poor man, with a large family, 
cannot educate the whole, and, to be impartial, he educates 
none of his children ; and consequently his district derives 
no benefit from his residence among them. Upon this 
plan, he Avill pay something, and proportionately lighten 
the charge upon the rest. And, after all, I should look for 
less opposition from the rich than the poor, 

Advanta<^e of YovL will obscrve that I have spoken of a female teacher. 

teachCTsf™^'*' This is a custom common in the New England States, 
where I have witnessed its great utility. I myself received 
the first rudiments of education from a country girl, and 
during the summer, never w^ent to any but a female teacher. 
They never teach but in the summer, and are employed 
for the young misses, and those boys that are too small to 
be serviceable on the farm. For these two classes of chil- 
dren, I should give a decided preference to a female 
teacher ; and for the purposes here proposed, and in the 



Xia'jsiey's Plan fou Schools. 443 

present slate of clie eouutry, a girl of coinmou education 
would be fully competent to teach in most of the districts. 
The very small price at which sh^ could be commanded is Female teachers 

will not cost much; 

no inconsiderable object, i ought perhaps here to remark, need not be exam- 
that delicacy would forbid, and necessity would not require 
that she should pass an examination before the committee. 
Her selection may be safely committed to the district com- 
mittee. 

For the education of boys, and even larger girls, the winter the best 
winter is decidedly the best season, first, because they can- to be in session, 
not, in an agricultural community, be spared from the 
farms during summer, and a teacher may be employed at a 
much lower rate at that season. A longer term than I 
propose would be desirable ; but even that time every year 
will do much, and perhaps' is as much as it would answer 
at first to attempt by this half compulsory means. 

I will say a word upon the size of the districts. They size of the districts- 
should be so large as to lighten the burthen as much as pos- 
sible, and may be from three to five miles square, though 
much must depend upon the number of inhabitants, and 
their form may be changed in compliance with the country 
so far as rivers or impassable swamps intervene. The 
court should also be empowered to shape their size and 
form as occasion may require ; but I would limit their 
power, but upon the application of some ten or twelve 
householders of the district in order to prevent litigious 
applications. 

I propose to make the acceptance of the act optional with pian to be left 

,,..,-,., . optional with each 

each countv, and then leave each district the liberty of ac- county and then 

'' with each district. 

cepting or rejectino: the terms. T presume a compulsory 
act could scarcely be passed, and, if passed would be 
scarcely more efficient than this. I believe that a majority 
of the counties will accept it during the first year, more or 
less districts in each countv will also avail themselves of 
it in that time. Ent should hut a single countv and a 
sino;le district therein accept the henefit, even then a ffreat 



444 



Kinivey's Plan fok Schools. 



Motives for pro- 
posing this plan. 



House orders 
Kinney's report 
printed. 



Senate concurs. 



point will be gained. The advantages will be apijarent, 
and the example, I trust, will be followed. Should the act 
remain a dead letter upon the statute Book, little injurv 
will be done ; and should no better plan be suggested, per- 
haps this may be worth an exjieriment. 

I make no apology for thus, unasked, proposing this 
plan. Evci'v man owes something to the society in which 
he lives, and all that can be expected from him is to en- 
deavor to discharge the obligation. My object will be com- 
pletely eltected should this be a means of suggesting a 
better plan. I have no partiality for my own unless no 
better can be found. Indeed, I scarcely know whether it 
should be called my own ; for really there is no originality 
in it. It is at best but a new application of a power 
already known to exist in various forms. Should you be 
able to extract any hint from it worthy of notice. I shall 
think I have deserved well of my country ; but if you think 
it useless, you will cast it with those things that are for- 
gotten. I am, most respectfully. 

Your obt. servt., C. R. Kinney. 

Sep. 19, 1S:>9 

His Excellency Gov. Owen. 

Saturday, K"ov. 21, 1829. — On motion of Mr. Mhoon', 
ordered that a message be sent to the Senate, proposing that 
the document accompanying the Governor's message con- 
taining a ])lan of primary schools in this State, be printed, 
one copy for each member of the Assembly. 
— House Journal, 1829-SO, p. 161. 

Monday, N'ov. 23, 1829. — A message from the Senate, 
consenting to have printed the plan of primary schools in 
this state, as prepared by a citizen of this State and accom- 
]ianying the Governor's message, one copy for each mem- 
ber of the Legislature. 

— House Juonial, 1829-30, p. 163. . 



1 William 8. Mhoon, Bertie. 



5. COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

Senate : Win. M. Sneed, Granville ; Charles L. Hin- gg^ate committee, 
ton, Wake; Manrice Smith, Person; Collen W. Barnes, ' 
Northampton ; Joseph J. Williams, Martin. 

• — Senate Journal, 1829-30, p. 10. 
House: Samuel T. Sawyer, Edenton; Benjamin T. 

. -_ ^ TT 11 r^ -T House committee. 

Simmons, Currituck; John S. W. Hellen, Carteret; James 
Ehodes, Wayne ; John Farrier, Duplin ; Archibald Monk, 
Sampson ; Neill Nicholson, Eichmond ; John Purcell, Rol> 
eson ; William Branch, Franklin ; Duncan York, Nash ; 
Thomas H. Taylor, Orange ; James Kerr, Caswell ; Daniel 
M. Barringer, Cabarrus ; Alfred C. Moore, Surry ; David 
L. Swain, Buncombe; Joseph M. Carson, Rutherford. 

— House Journal, 1829-30. 



445 



6. McFARLAND'S BILL TO EDUCATE POOR CHILDREN. 

Kduoedfn'"' Monday, Nov. 23, 1829.— Mr. McFarland presented a 

^'^"'^*^- fill for the education of the poor children of the State of 

J^orth Carolina ; which was read the first time and passed, 

and, on motion of Mr. McFarland, ordered to be referred 

to the committee on Education. 

— Senate Journal, 1829-30, p. 12. 

Bill printed. On motion of Mr. McFarland, ordered that the bill for 

the education of the poor children of the State of North 
Carolina, be printed, one copy for each member of the 
Legislature. 

— Senate Journal, 1829-30, p. 13. 

The bill submitted by Mr. M'Farland, for the education 

General provisions "^ ' 

asthebmon828. ^^ ^^^ P^oi' children of the State, provides, that so soon as 
the Literary Fund shall amount to $150,000 and annually 
thereafter, the Public Treasurer shall hand over to the 
County Trustee of each county, the portion of public money 
which may be coming to each of their respective Counties 
from said fund ; and that each County shall draw an 
amount, proportionate to its population and taxation. It 
is made the duty of the County Court, to appoint annually, 
School Commissioners in each Captain's district, Avhose 
duty will be to ascertain the number of destitute children 
in their respective districts, between the ages of 5 and 16, 
and cause said children, where the parents are willing, to 
be sent to any school within five miles distance, and pay 
for their tuition out of the money allotted from the fund, 
for this purpose. No child to remain at school longer, 
than is necessary to acquire a knowledge of Reading, Writ- 
ing, Grammar and Arithmetic. 

— Raleir/k Regider, Nov. 30, 1829. 

446 



McFarland's School Bill. 447 

Thursday, Dec. 17, 1829. — On motion of Mr. McFar- sni referred to a 
land, ordered that the committee on Education be dis- ^^"^^^^^ commi 
charged from the further consideration of the bill for the 
education of the poor children of the State of North Caro- 
lina ; and the said bill was ordered to be referred to a select 
committee^, consisting of Messrs. McFarland, Franklin, 
Ramsey, Boddie and Ward. 

— Se7iate Journal, 1829-30, p. 60. 



^ This committee was composed as follows: Tryam McFarland, 
Richmond ; Meshack Franklin, Surry ; Joseph Ramsey, Chatham ; 
William W. Boddie, Nash, and Edward Ward, Onslow. 

Thursday, Dec, 24, 1829.— Mr. McFarland, from the Bin laid ^ 
select committee, to whom was referred the bill for the 
education of the poor children of the State of North Caro- 
lina, reported the same without amendment. Whereupon, 
on motion of Mr. Meares\ ordered that the said bill, to- 
gether with the report, be laid upon the table. 

— Senate Journal, 1829-30, p. 85. 



^ William B. Meares, New Hanover. 

On motion of Mr. Meares, ordered that the report^ of the Report of special 
select committee, on the bill to provide for the education pXted.^^ 
of the poor children of the State of North Carolina, be 
printed, one copy for each member of the Legislature. 

— Senate Journal, 1829-30, p. 87. 
* I have been unable to fand this report. 



7. LOAN ASKED FOR EDENTON ACADEMY. 

Monday, Dec. 21, 1829. — Mr. Sawyer^ presented the 
memorial of the trustees of the Edenton Academy, praying 
the loan of money, to be applied in support of said Acad- 
emy. Ordered that said memorial be referred to the com- 
mittee on Education. 

— House Journal 1829-30, p. 227. 

Thursday, Dec. 31, 1829. — Mr. Swain", from the com- 
mittee on Education, to whom was referred the memorial 
of the trustees of the Edenton Academy, reported unfavor- 
ably to the prayer of the memorialists, and asked to be dis- 
charged from the further consideration of the subject. 
The question to concur with the report was determined in 
the affirmative. 

— House Journal, 1829-30, p. 255. 



' Samuel T. Sawyer, Edenton. 
^ David L. Swain, Buncombe. 



448 



8. WHAT OTHER STATES ARE DOING FOR COMMON 
SCHOOLS. 

Common IScliools. — The subject of iutroducing Common what North caro- 

, , lina has done. 

Schools into every neighborhood m the btate, where there 
are a sufficient number of children to make such an estab- 
lishment desirable, has frequently been before our Legis- 
lature; a fund has been provided, and committees have 
been appointed to report a plan for carrying the measure 
into effect, but no step has yet been taken to put in opera- 
tion a single School at public expense. 

In the State of New- York, where great and laudable at- what New York 

' _ ^ is doing. 

tention has been paid to the establishment of Common 
Schools, it is j)rovided by law, that as soon as the inhabi- 
tants of any neighborhood agree to erect a School-house, 
and raise a certain sum for the payment of a Teacher, they 
may draw on the Public School Fund, which the State has 
provided, for a sum equal to their own contributions. And 
by this means, schools have been everywhere established, so 
that there are within the several School districts of that 
State, the astounding number of 441,856 children, between 
the ages of 5 and 1 5, at school. 

What objection can there be to the adoption of a similar 
plan for this State ? The fund is ready, and all that is 
necessary, is to pass a suitable law on the subject. 

— Bnlelgh Refjister, March 6. 1829. 



29 449 



9. NEGLECT OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

A Bill fur the application of all appropriations for the 
increase of the Public Library. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
J^orth Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That henceforth all the appropriations, for 
increasing- the Public Library shall be placed under the 
control of a Board, consisting of the Governor, the Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Public Treasurer 
for the time being, and shall be applied by their order or 
that of a majority of them to the purchase of such books, 
maps and charts as they may direct. 

Be it further enacted, That the said board shall annu- 
ally report to the Legislature, a list of the books last pur- 
chased as aforesaid, and the cost thereof, and they shall 
cause to be made out, and always keep ready in the Library 
a full and complete catalogue of all the books contained in 
the same\ 

Engrossed and examined. 

Li Senate Jan. 7, 1830: Eead the first time and or- 
dered to be indefinitely postponed. 

— Un publish eel Lrglslatirr Docinnefits, 1829-30. 



1 The reports made some years later show that the appropriation 
for the Library was not being all used at this time. 



450 



1830 

1. A TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION SUGGESTED. 

2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS URGED. 

3. NORTH CAROLINA URGED TO FOLLOW TENNESSEE IN 

SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 

4. GOV. OWEN'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

5. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

6. McFARLAND'S BILL TO EDUCATE POOR CHILDREN. 

7. ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS ON EDUCATION. 

8. INEXPEDIENT TO APPROPRIATE SCHOOL FUND. 

9. McFARLAND'S BILL TO INCREASE LITERARY FUND. 

10. MONK'S BILL TO INCREASE THE LITERARY FUND. 

11. LOAN ASKED FOR OXFORD ACADEMY. 

12. BILL TO COLLECT SCHOOL STATISTICS. 

13. LITERARY FUND RECEIPTS 1830. 

14. DISBURSEMENTS OF STATE TREASURY 1830. 

15. SLAVES MUST NOT BE TAUGHT TO READ AND WRITE. 

16. CENSUS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



451 



1. A TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION SUGGESTED. 



Preliminary 
conference. 



Advantaffcs of 
organization. 



To the friends of Education and of the cause, of Litera- 
ture m North-Carolina. 

In a conference between several gentlemen engaged iii 
the task of instruction, it was suggested as promising manv 
valuable results, that there should be a meeting annual],/ 
or oftener, of all those who have the charge of Seminaries 
of learning, as well as others who may feel interested, for 
the purpose of mutual consultation, and the discussion of 
subjects connected with education and the advancement of 



Meeting called 
Dec. 15, at Raleigh. 



knowledge. 



It is well known how much light is struck out, how 
much zeal is enkindled, how much higher the standard of 
excellence is raised, where a body of men pursuing the 
same occuj^ation, are collected together in the same town, 
and are thereby brought into frequent contact and compe- 
tition. — But as these circumstances are not attainable in 
a State like ours, jDOSsessing no large towns and population 
thinly scattered over an extensive territory, the only way 
which teachers can compensate for their dispersed and 
isolated situations, is to consent occasionally to leave their 
respective charges, and repair to some pre-appointed ren- 
dezvous, whither they can carry for free discussion, all the 
subjects of inquiry, doubt and difficulty, which have oc- 
curred in the course of their experience. 

All who have been employed in the business of Educa- 
tion, indeed all who have been interested in literary or 
scientific investigations, feel sorely the privation of pleas- 
ure and of improvement to which they are condemned, 
when their circumstances forbid an intercourse with those 
of the same professional pursuits. It is therefore pre- 
sumed that the Teachers throughout the State, if not 
others, will receive with approbation the proposition which 
is now made, that there be a meeting held on the 15th of 

452 



Teaciiees' Association Suggested. 453 

December next, in the Citv of Raleigh, of all persons in- 
terested in the cause of education, for the purpose of con- 
sulting- on various matters relating to their vocation, and 
on the expediency of organizing a permanent Council or 
Senatus Academicus, who shall meet periodically for the 
fore-mentioned objects. 

It is but barely necessary to hint to those concerned, guijjects for 
that a free communication on the best modes of discipline 
and tuition, the best books and editions of books, gram- 
matical questions, as well as the promotion of professional 
acquaintance & friendship, strongly invite to the proposed 
meeting, and promise to render it highly advantageous 
and pleasant to those who may attend. 

Should this proposal meet with a favorable acceptance, 
it will be well for those who favor it, to signify their ap- 
probation through the medium of the papers in their re- 
spective neighborhoods, with such remarks as will promote 
the object ; that it may be known before hand what prob- 
ability there is of general attendance in Ealeigh, next 
winter. Paedophilus. 

— Raleigh Register, Jnhj 19, 1830. 



2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS URGED. 



What to do for the 
University ; how 
to educate the 
jjoor : how to 
reach every citizen 
with education, 
now subjects of 
serious c^jncern. 



Legislature under 
solemn moral oldi- 
gations to provide 
education for all 
the white people. 



Education. — In the last Korth- Carolina Journal, there 
is an editorial article on the subject of Education, from 
which we extract the following: 

In N^orth-Carolina too, a deeper feeling than usual, has 
been excited on the all important subject of education, 
which, it is to be hoped, will deepen and extend, until it 
pervades the bosom of every white person in the State. 
The embarrassments of the University, the difficulties 
wdiich many neighborhoods and individuals have to en- 
counter in procuring the most common means of instruc- 
tion, the ignorance of many of the poorer classes, and the 
utter impracticability in most of them to educate their 
children, have awakened the drowsy sensibilities of our 
people and put ui- all upon the enquiry — What shall be 
done for our University ? — How shall the poor be educa- 
ted ? — How shall education be placed wdthin the reach of 
every one of our citizens ? 

The elections, of tomorrow, wull determine wdio are those 
to whom is entrusted the high and honorable duty of mak- 
ing laws for us, for another year — perhaps for posterity. 
It is hoped that none of those elected, will be insensible 
to the obligations attached to their responsible situations, 
iSTot knowing now, of course, who the members of the next 
Legislature wall be, we cannot be accused of personalities, 
as we hope we shall not be, of proscription, when we say 
to the Representatives, no matter who they may be, that 
they — the chosen depositories of the rights and happiness 
of free Republicans — the citizens of a Government found- 
ed on the virtue and intelligence of the people — are under 
solemn and imperious moral and political obligations — 
from which nothing wall discharge them, but the faithful 
and honest performance of their duty — to provide means 
of instruction to all ranks and classes of our Avhite popu- 
lation; and that as soon as they are qualified for the dis- 

454 



ESTAULISHMENT OF ScHOOLS UeGED. 455 

charge of their legislative duties, they are bound by the 
most solemn and awful obligation — a voluntary OATH — 
to support and sustain the University. 

The Constitution of jS^orth-Carolina, which every mem- The constitution 
ber of the Legislature takes oath to support, when he univcrsity'be 

*" ... .sujjported. 

qualities, declares "that one or more Universities shall be 
established." This is no unmeaning provision. It is re- 
plete with Avisdom, patriotism, benevolence, obligation. 
The Sages, Patriots and Statesmen who framed our State 
Constitution, had just then thrown off their allegiance to 
the British Crowai ; they were devising a plan of Govern- 
ment for a community of independent Freemen; they were 
aware that much of the stability of the Government, and 
much of the happiness of the people depended upon the 
cultivation of the public mind. Hence they made it a 
Constitutional duty in the Legislature to establish "Uni- 
versities." Xor does the obligation cease with the mere 
act of incorporating Trustees ; it extends with full force, 
and with unceasing application, to the endowing said Uni- 
versities with such ample funds, as are requisite for effect- 
ing this Constitutional provision. Xo member of the Leg- 
islature of ^STorth Carolina therefore, can discharge his 
duty, or comply with the solemn obligations of his oath, if 
he refuses or neglects to endow the University with such 
funds, as the resources of the State, and the wants of the 
Institution, warrant and demand, for carrying into full 
and complete 0})eration the intentions of the wise and 
beneficent framers of the Constitution. 

.—Raleigh Eer/ister, Aug. 16, IS 30. 



3. NORTH CAROLINA URGED TO FOLLOW TENNESSEE IN 
SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 

Plan of public edu- A late Teiinessee paper contains the act passed by the 
see outlined. ' Legislature of that State, at its last session, to establish a 
system of Common Schools, and to appropriate the School 
Funds of that State. This act provides that the several 
County Courts shall annually appoint a Commissioner in 
each Captain's Company, who shall meet at their Respec- 
tive Regimental Muster Grounds on a certain day, for the 
purpose of dividing said Regiment into School Districts 
of convenient size, taking down the heads of families in 
each district on separate sheets of paper, which shall be 
given to a Justice of the Peace residing in each District 
(or should there be none to some other suitable person) 
who shall after giving ten days public notice, cause to be 
elected five trustees, all persons voting who vote for mem- 
bers of the General Assembly. Such trustees to organize 
themselves, by choosing a Chairman, Clerk and Treasurer ; 
and the Chairmen of the several districts in each county 
are to meet at the Courthouse on the first Saturday of 
June annually, for the purpose of choosing not less than 
five nor more than seven Common School Commissioners 
for said county, who are to appoint a Clerk, who shall also 
be Treasurer. They are to have control of all moneys, 
etc. — said Commissioners to meet semi-annually. — They 
shall apportion the annual School Fund amongst the sev- 
eral School Districts, (which shall be entitled to a share 
by having provided a comfortable school house in such 
district) in proportion to the number of children of both 
sexes between the ages of five and fifteen years. The 
Trustees of each district to give bond to said Commission- 
ers that the money which they receive shall be faithfully 
applied to the support of a Free School. Each of the 
trustees to keep open a subscription paper, and solicit and 
receive donations in support of the school. The Trustees 

456 



ISToRTH Carolina Urged to Follow Te^^nessee. 457 

of each School District are constituted a body politic and 
corporate and have the full power to employ and dismiss 
Teachers. The School Commisisoners shall number the 
School Districts in each county and divide them into five 
equal parts, and assign to each, one of said divisions, who 
shall visit them, at least once a year, and report to the Secre- 
tary of State annually on or before the 1st of September. 
— The Trustees of each District are also to report the 
state of the School under their direction to the School 
Commissioners. — It is made the duty of the Trustees of 
the several School Districts, as far as practicable, to induce 
all children within the district under the age of 15 years, 
to be sent to School, making no distinction between rich 
and poor. 

This is a mere outline of the plan — the Act itself will This state oufirht to 

^ _ _ provide for the 

be preserved and shown to such as wish lo see it. And we <-h!Mrc-nofaiiher 

^ citizens. 

trust, since Tennessee, the child of l^orth Carolina, has 
carried into effect this important provision for the Educa- 
tion of the Childf^en of all her citizens, we shall not longer 
neglect this paramount duty, urged upon us by that sacred 
instrument, our Constitution. 

— Raleigh Register Editorial, Jidy 29, 1830. 



4. GOV. OWEN'S MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 



Education one of 
greatest objects of 
legislation. 



Criminals usually 
ignorant ; vice, 
irreligion and pov- 
erty due to igno- 
rance. 



Objects of 
education. 



The object of all our legislation is the happiness of our 
citizens, and in furtherance of this object, I would particu- 
larly invite your attention to the education of our youth, 
the internal improvement of the State, and the regulation 
of the circulating medium, as the three great and leading 
subjects, which should claim your attention at the present 
session. * * * 

The iiuportance of a general diffusion of knowledge is 
universally admitted ; nor is it any longer pretended that 
learning is unfavorable to morals, or injurious to the best 
interests of a nation. On the contrary, our own experi- 
ence as a nation, and the history of the world prove to us, 
that most of those who are condemned to the just punish- 
nient of malefactors under the laws of a Christian com- 
munity, are the exceedingly ignorant, who have been hur- 
ried into acts of violence, or seduced into excess, by the 
example of a few, whose situation from fortuitous circum- 
stances affords them a passport to luxury, and to criminal 
indulgence. If then it be true that the vice, irreligion, 
and consequent poverty and misery of a large portion of 
our fellow citizens are to be attributed to their intellectual 
condition, are these not indispensable considerations to 
the virtuous legislator ? The benevolent designs of the 
philanthropist, and the particular plans of the political 
economist to promote the general diffusion of education, 
are mere instrumental expedients in the hands of the 
legislator ; and without the aid of the strong arm of gov- 
ernment, must fall ^'still born," and prove ineffectual for 
raising the ignorant from their degraded condition. The 
object of education is to train the young to usefulness, 
and to fit them for that station, which they are to assume 
in after life among freemen. Without a proper cultiva- 
tion of the moral and intellectual faculties, this end can 
never be attained — these artificial helps have ever been 

458 



Gov. Oaven on Education. 459 

found to suffice. Whilst other members of this great 
confederacy have been appropriating millions for the gen- 
eral concern of literature, and establishing schools for the 
education of their youth, thereby enabling them to keep 
pace with the enlightened age in which we live, has there 
not been a manifest dereliction of duty on the part of those 
who have been entrusted with the regulation of the political 
economy of i^orth Carolina, that in all its bounds there North Carolina is 



never has been established a single institution for gratui- states. 



behind other 



b^ 



tons instruction, even in the elementary branches of edu- 
cation '^ Fellow Citizens of the Senate and of the House 
of Connnons, should this be so ? and will you permit it any 
longer to be the case ? Have we not resources approach- 
ing almost to immensity lavished upon us ? And if they 
are not properly applied, is it not time to raise a protesting 
voice against a S})ecies of economy, which has so long kept our so-caiied econ- 

, . . 1 1 o • J T-1 m omv has kept the 

the poor m ignorance, and the otate in poverty J _b uUy poor in ignorance 

•11 c 1 '^ 1 r -I 1 • T •' 1 1 T ' and the state In 

sensible oi the arduous nature oi the duties which devolve poverty. 
upon the Legislature — of the difficulty of reconciling the 
views even of those most friendly to the establishment of 
primary schools for the instruction more particularly of 
the poor, we may yet be consoled by the reflection, that 
the path is not an untried one, but has led other Legisla- 
tures to the happiest results, by ameliorating the condition 
of society, establishing correct habits, morals and religion, 
always under the dominion of education — and these are 
the only sure conservators of the government under which 
we live. In the archives of the State, you have abundant 
materials from which to compile a system for Xorth Caro- 
lina, for the gratuitous public instruction of the youth of 
the State. If, in such a system, it be necessary to tax xax on the rich for 
the wealthy for the benefit of the poor, it is in the nature ^ ^°^^ "'"*' ' ^ 
of things that it should be so, and it should be recollected 
that it is the latter, who are oftener called on to fight the 
battles of their country. 

The University of the State should, in connection with pica for aid to the 
j^rimary schools, also claim the fostering care of the Legis- 



460 Gov. OwEx ON Education. 

lature. For this institution, spacious buildings have been 
erected, extensive and valuable libraries have been col- 
lected, costly chemical and philosophical apparatus have 
been procured, by which the professors are enabled to com- 
municate instruction in the elevated branches of learning 
and science with more ease ; and these have been effected 
in no small degree by private contribution. After having 
struggled through many years for a precarious existence, 
until it has attained to a lofty eminence among the col- 
leges of our country, the trustees are reduced to the neces- 
sity of abandoning it altogether, or of turning it over to 
the Legislature of our country. The last alternative has 
been adopted. To you, many of whom have received your 
dearest and most valuable inheritance within its conse- 
crated walls, they are about to surrender their trust ; and 
with that, "this child of the constitution," which, if cher- 
ished as it should be, must become the great moral engine 
of supplying the halls of our Legislature, the Bench, the 
Pulpit, and the Bar, with that learning and talent, which, 
without it, will be looked for in vain from other parts of 
the State, and must be supplied from abroad. There can 
be no better test of the enlightened wisdom of a nation, 
than the extent and sufficiency of its provision for the 
mental and moral instruction of its children, and we can 
never hope to establish for Korth Carolina, an elevated 
standard of education, or even of social and national virtue, 
until the principles of correct education, and their influ- 
ence upon society, shall have been known, acknowledged 
and practiced among ourselves. Is there not a constitu- 
tional injunction on the subject of education, and this too, 
founded on the helief (to use no stronger term) that a 
system of general education, is indispensable to a system 
of (jeneral morality, and that from these alone, we can 
hope to perpetuate the free institutions of our country. 

—IIoKsr Journal. lSSO-81, pp. 151 and 158. 



5. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES OX EDUCATION. 

Wm. M. Sneed, Granville ; Tryam McFarland, Rich- senato committee. 
mond; Wm. D. Moseley, Lenoir; Clement Marshall, An- 
son; Collen W. Barnes, ISTorthampton. 

— Senate Juurnal, ISSO-ol, p. IJ/.. 

Samuel T. Sawyer, Edenton; Uriah W. Swanner, Wash- House committee, 
ington ; James A. Chesson, AVashington ; Charles G. 
Speight, N^ewbern ; Nathan B. Bush, Jones ; Wm. K. 
Frederick, Duplin ; John P. Gauze, Brunswick ; Thomas 
Hill, ]^ew JIanover ; Archibald Monk, Sampson; William 
Branch, Franklin ; William Clark, Pitt ; James T. Haley, 
Northampton ; A. Weaver,^ Guilford ; Philip Irion, Rock- 
ingham ; William H. Phillips, Hillsborough ; Daniel M. 
Barringer. Cabarrus ; Joseph Allison, Orange ; Alordecai 
Fleming, Surry. 

— House Journal. 1830-31, p. 167. 



1 Amos Weaver was later deprived of his seat in the House of Com- 
mons on the ground that he was, at the time of his election, a min- 
ister of the Methodist church, and ineligible to a seat in the Legisla- 
ture, under section 31 of the State Constitution. The history of the 
case may be found in House Journal, 1830-31, pp. 170, 171, 184, 191. 



461 



6. McFAELAlVD'S BILL TO EDUCATE POOE CHILDREN. 

Bill introduceri. Wednesday, iS^ov. 24, 1830. — Mr. McFarland presented 

a bill to provide for the education of the poor children in 
the State of ^orth Carolina ; which was read the first time 
and passed, and, on motion of Mr. McFarland, ordered 
to be referred to the committee on Education. 

• — iSenate Journal, 1830-31, p. 19. 
Bill similar to oth- By Mr. McFarland, a bill to provide for the education 

ers by McFarland. „ i • t n • i r< ^ -^^^ r-, -,- m 

o± poor children m the btate of JN. Carolina. [The pro- 
visions of this bill are precisely similar to those contained 
in the bill presented at the last two or three sessions, on 
this subject.] 

— Baleigh Register Report of Proceedings of Senate, 
Wednesday, Nov. 2k, 1830, in. issue of Dec. 2, 1830. 

pro\'isions of LEGISLATURE. — 111 the Senate, on Wednesday, the 2-ith 

McFariand'sbiii. ^^i^;^^^^ ^[^, M'Farknd introduced a bill to provide for 
the education of the poor children of this State ; which 
was read the first time, passed and referred to the commit- 
tee on Education. The provisions of the bill are briefly 
these: That so soon as the literary fund shall amount to 
a sum deemed adequate for the purpose, that the interest 
arising therefrom shall be paid over by the Public Treas- 
urer to the county trustees of the several counties in the 
State, in sums proportioned to the population and taxation 
of the same, to be by them applied to the education of 
those only whose parents or guardians are absolutely desti- 
tute of the means of paying their tuition; and such alone 
as have no visible property are to be entitled to the pro- 
visions of the bill ; and their children are not to be ad- 
vanced in their education beyond reading, writing, Eng- 
lish Grammar and Arithmetic. For carrying these pro- 
visions into operation, the County Courts in each county 

462 



McFarland's School Bill. 463 

are to appoint two commissioners, to ascertain the number 
and enrol the names of such poor children, and enter them 
in the ordinary way to some school within a reasonable 
distance of their places of residence ; to give the teacher 
or trustees of the school a certificate, shewing the names 
and number of scholars thus subscribed, which shall be 
paid by the county trustee. 

—The Star, Dec. 2, 1830. 

Friday, Dec. 24, 1830. — Mr. McFarland, from the com- Adverse eommittee 

T^ , . 1 ^ T 1 -TT report; bill laid on 

mittee on Fducation, to whom w^as referred a bill to pro- the table, 
vide for the education of the poor children of this State, 
made a report thereon, expressing the opinion that it is 
inexpedient at this time to pass the said bill into a law ; 
and, on motion of Mr. McFarland, ordered that the bill 
and report be laid upon the table. 

— Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 88. 

Saturday, Jan. 1, 1831. — On motion of Mr. McFar- ggj^a^.^ Q^^^jj^jj^g^, 
land, ordered that the committee on Education and Pri- discharged.*'" 
mary Schools be discharged during the present session. 

— Senate Journal 1830-31, p. 120. 



7. ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS ON EDUCATION. 

Thursday, Kov. 28, 1830.— On motion of Mr. Monk' : 
Resolved, That the committee on Education be instruct- 

House inquiry , . . . , , . ^ . . i 

about establishing ed to inquire mto the exiDediency oi appropriating the 
interest of the literary fund to the education of indigent 
children, and that they report by bill or otherwise. 

— House JournaJ, lSSO-31, p. 167. 



New Hanover me- 
morial on schools. 



Aid to University 
and other t^ehools 
from Literary 
Fund. 



1 Archibald Monk, Sampson. 

Thursday, Dec. 9, 1830.— Mr. Thomas Hill, with leave, 
presented the memoriaP of sundry citizens of ^ew Han- 
over county, upon the establishment of common schools ; 
which was read, and, on motion of Mr. Hill, referred to 
the committee on Education. 

—House Journal, 1830-31, p. 206. 



1 This memorial couid not be found among the Legislative papers 
of this year. 

Thursday, Dec. 9, 1830. — The following resolution, of- 
fered by Mr. Pearson', was read and adopted : 

Besolved, That the committee on the University be in- 
structed to inquire into the expediency of establishing a 
Board of Commissioners, to be denominated the Commis- 
siuiiei's of Education, who shall have the entire manage- 
ment of the finances of the University, and such common 
schools as may be established ; and the expediency of grant- 
ing to the University the aid which its situation at present 
requires, on condition that the trustees will convey to said 
commissioners all the funds of the University, which, to- 
gether with the literary fund, shall constitute a general 
fund for education, out of which the University and such 
other schools as may hereafter be established by the State, 
are to be supported. 

—House Journcd, 1830-31, pp. 206-207. 



* R. M. Pearson, Rowan. 



464 



Resolutions on Education. 465 

Resolved that the Committee on Education and Primary McFaiiand'sreso- 

_,-,,. ..... , .. lution to imiuiie 

bchools be instructed to inquire into the present situation into condition of 

Literary Fund and 

of the Literary Fund. As to the amount of said fund, the propriety of a 

•J loan to the Uni- 

How invested and the time of investment. The amount versity. 
of cash on hand, and as to the propriety of loaning any 
part of said fund to the trustees of the University. Also 
as to the propriety of appropriating to said fund any stock 
or funds of the State which are not set apart for any 
specified object, in order speedily to carry into effect the 
laudable purpose for which it was intended. That they 
report the same to this Legislature\ 

In Senate 13th Dec. 1830. Read and agreed to. 

In Senate 1st Jan. 1830. Read and the Committee 

1C1 •! • 1 (• Clerk's entries on 

thereof discharged from the further consideration thereol. resolution. 
— Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 58. 



' Introduced by Tryam McFarland, of Richmond. 

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 1830. — Mr. McFarland presented j^g^^i^^j^j^ ^^ ^^^^ 

the following resolution, viz. pay state expend. 

Besolved, That the Public Treasurer be authorized to 
use any part of the Literary Fund (should it be necessary) 
for the payment of contingent charges of government, and 
the redemption of Treasury notes for the ensuing year; 
and that he refund the said amount to the Literary Fund, 
and report the same in his annual report. 

Which was read, and, on motion of Mr. McKay ^, ordered 
to be laid upon the table. 

— Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 111. 



1 James J. McKay, Bladen. 

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 1831. — The resolution authorizing passes first reading, 
the Treasurer to use any part of the Literary Fund, was 
taken up, on motion of Mr. McFarland, read the first time 
and passed. 

- — Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 135. 
30 



466 Resolutions on Education. 

Sned"^"^' ^°'*" J^i^- ^' 1831.— The resolution authorizing the Public- 
Treasurer to use the Literary Fund, if necessary, was read 
the second time, and, on motion of Mr. Skinner^, ordered 
to be indefinitely postponed. 

— 8enate Journal, IS 80-31, p. 138. 



^ Henry Skinner, Perquimans. 



8. INEXPEDIENT TO APPROPRIATE SCHOOL FUND. 

Friday, Dec. 17, 1830. — Mr. Sawyer^ from the com- House resolves not 

. . , . . . , . to establish 

mittee on iLducation, instructed to inquire into the expedi- schools. 
ency of appropriating the interest of the Literary Fund 
to the education of indigent children, reported that it is 
not expedient at this time to make the contemplated 
appropriation, and prayed to be discharged from the fur- 
ther consideration of the subject. The report was con- 
curred in. 

—House Journal, 1830-31, p. 221. 



^ Samuel T. yawyer, Edenton. 



467 



9. McFARLAND'S BILL TO INCEEASE LITEKARX FUND. 

Resolution to Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1830. — Mr. McFaiiand, from the 

Literary^Fund^^ "^ Committee on Education and Primary Schools, to whom 

was referred a resolution instructing them to inquire into 

the present state of the Literary fund, made a report 

thereon, accompanied by the following resolution, viz. 

Resolved, That the public Treasurer be authorized to 
transfer to the Literary fund, the sum of twenty-eight 
thousand one hundred and eighty-four dollars thirty-two 
and a half cents, and all interest that has or may accrue 
on said sum, it being an amount due from the late Treas- 
urer John Haywood. 

Which being read, was, on motion of Mr. W^ilson\ or- 
dered to be laid upon the table, and on motion of Mr. Mc- 
Farland, ordered that the report be printed, one copy for 
each member of the Legislature. 

— Senate Journal, 1830-31, y. 81. 



1 Louis D. Wilson, Edgecombe. 

Passes Senate. ^^^ motiou of Mr. McFarlaud, the resolution concerning 

the Literary Fund was taken up, read and adopted, and 
ordered to be engrossed. 

— Senate Journal 1830-31, p. 91. 

Bill introduced. Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1830. — Mr. McFarland presented 

a bill for the promotion of the Literary Fund ; which was 
read the first time and passed. 

— Senate Journal 1830-31, p. 82. 



Fees for attorney's 
licenses to go to 
Literary Fund. 



A Bill for the further promotion of the Literary Fund. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
North Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same. That from and after the passage of this act, 

468 



McFakland's Bill to Increase School Fund, 469 

that all tax fees paid by attorneys for Licenses in the 
different Counties of the State, shall be paid the Clerk of 
the County in which such license is obtained, and the 
amount so collected by said Clerk shall be paid over to the 
Publick Treasurer of the State as other publick monies, 
and by him applied to the Literary Fund, and the sum 
shall constitute a part of the capital stock of said fund, 
any law to the contrary not withstanding\ 

— Unpiihlislied Legislative Documents, 1830-1. 

In Senate 22nd. Dec. 1830. Read the first time, and 
passed. 

In Senate 5th. Jan. 1831. Read the second time and Biii fails, 
on motion of Mr. Meares', ordered to be indefinitely post- 
poned. 

— See Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 138. 



^ Introduced by Tryam McFarland, Richmond. 
* William B. Meares, of New Hanover. 



10. MONK'S BILL TO INCREASE THE LITERARY FUND. 

House bill intro- Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1830.— Mr. Monk^ with leave, 

duced and rejected, presented a bill to increase the Literary Fund; which was 
read the first time and rejected. 

— House Journal, IS 30-31, p. 231. 

A Bill to increase the literary fund. 

The bill ; certain Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
Literao°Fund^° ^ JSTorth Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, that seven Hundred and four shares of the 
stock owned by the State in the Bank of Cape Fear, and 
three Hundred and fifty nine shares of the stock owned by 
the State in the Bank of iSTewbern be and the same is 
hereby appropriated and set apart to the literary fund. 

— VnpuhJi^hcd I)()ru)ii('iifs-. 1S30-1. 



Archibald Monk, Sampson. 



470 



11. LOAN ASKED FOR OXFORD ACADEMY. 

Saturday, Dec. 18, 1830.— Mr. O'Brien presented the ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ 
memorial of sundry citizens of Granville county, praying Literary Fund. 
a loan out of the literary fund, of the sum of three thou- 
sand dollars, to aid the Literary and Military Academy at 
Oxforfl • which was read and referred to a select commit- 
tee, consisting of Messrs. O'Brien, Gary, Jones, A. W. 
Wooten, and Bush^. 

— House Journal, 1830-31, p. 228. 



Committee make 



^Spencer O'Brien, Granville; Roderick B. Gary, Northampton; 
John F. Jones, Carteret; Allen W. Wooten, Lenoir; Nathan B. Bush, 
Jones. 

Friday, Dec. 23, 1830.— Mr. O'Brien, from the select 
committee to whom was referred the memorial in relation favorable report, 
to the Oxford Military Academy, leported a resolution in 
favor of Daniel H. Bingham, authorizing a loan out of 
the literary fund of $3,000 ; which was read the first time 
and passed. 

—House Journal, 1830-31, p. 235. 

Saturday, Jan. 1, 1831. — The resolution in favor of 

Loan fails, 

Daniel H. Bingham was read the second time, amended, 
and, on Mr. Blair's^ motion, indefinitely postponed. 

—House Journal, 1830-31, p. 259. 



^ George Blair, Chowan. 



471 



12. BILL TO COLLECT SCHOOL STATISTICS. 



Bill introduced. 



Tax listers to 
gather school sta- 
tistics ; miiiiber 
not attending 
school and adult 
illiterates to be 
ascertained. 



Refiort to the 
Governor by 
county clerks. 



Compensation. 



Thursday, Dec. 23, 1830. — Mr. Thomas HilP presented 
a bill to collect information relative to schools in the 
several counties in this State ; which was read the tirst 
time and passed. 

— House Journal, 1830-31, p. 23Jf. 

A Bill to collect information relative to schools in the 
several Counties of this State. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of North Caro- 
lina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, 
That it shall be the duty of each and every person ap- 
pointed in the several Counties in this State to take the 
lists of taxable property during the month of July next to 
collect information relative to the number of schools in 
the districts for which they may be respectively appointed, 
the number of scholars attending each school, the different 
branches of education taught therein, the number of chil- 
dren in their respective districts who from any Cause 
do not possess the opportunities of acquiring a Common 
English education, and the number of adults who are 
ignorant of the Common branches of education, and return 
all such information to the Clerk of the Court of Pleas 
and Quarter Sessions for the Counties in which they re- 
spectively reside. 

Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each 
and every Clerk of the Court aforesaid to transmit all such 
information as he may receive in manner aforesaid to- 
gether with such other information as they may derive 
from authentic sources relative to the aforesaid subject to 
the Governor of the State who shall lay the same before 
the General Assembly at the next annual session. 

And be it further enacted that the clerks of the several 
Courts of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in this State shall 



1 New Hanover. 



472 



Bill to Collect School Statistics. 473 

each be allowed the sum of one dollar for making the re- 
turns as in this act directed. 

— Unpuhlishcd JJocuments, 1830-1. 

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 1830. — The bill to collect informa- «"• f'"i« toi»«^'' 
tion relative to schools in the several counties in this State, 
was read the second time, and, on motion of Mr. Edmon- 
ston^, postponed indefinitely. 

— House Journal, 1830-31, p. 21^6. 



■ Ninian Edmonston, Haywood. 



13. LITERARY FUND RECEIPTS 1830. 

The balance of cash reiiiaiuing in the Treas- 
urer's hands unexpended, to the 1st of 
I^ovember, 1S29, as reported to the Gen- 
eral Assembly of that year $17,029 . 24^ 

Receipts from the first of November, 1829, 
to the first of ISTovember, 1830, consists 
of the following items: 
Cash for entries of vacant 

lands $G,G3G.OO 

Tavern tax 2,782.66 

Auction tax 391.12 

$9,812.78 

Cash received of State Bank of N^. C, 
dividend on 282 shares of stock belong- 
ing to this fund, at 3 per centum, for 12 
months ending with December, 1829. . . . 846.00 

Ditto State Bank of North Carolina, divi- 
dend on the above shares of stock, at 2 
per centum, for 6 months ending with 
June, 1830 564.00 

Ditto Bank of Cape Fear, dividend on 50 
shares of stock belonging to this fund, for 
6 months ending 1st January, 1830, at 
2 per centum 100 . 00 

Ditto Bank of Cape Fear, dividend on 704 
shares of stock, at 2 per centum, for 6 
months ending 1st January, 1830, which 
is appropriated to this fund 1,408.00 

Ditto Cape Fear Navigation Company, 
dividend on the shares of stock belonging 
to the State, and money expended, as de- 
clared by the said company, and payable 
January, 1830 392 . 86 



Aggregate amount 30,152.88^ 

474 



LiTERAEY Fund Heceipts. 47i 

Agricultural Fund 1,218 . 64 

Cash received from judgments obtained 

against Clerks and C^lerks and Masters, 

and on returns made by them to the first 

of IsTovember, 1830 $1,529 . 67 

Deduct disbursements during 

the period, for which vouch- 
ers have been delivered to 

Comptroller and allowed... 311.03 

Total amount of receipts $31,371 . 52^ 

— From Treasure/s Beport to Legislature^ 1830. 



14. DISBURSEMENTS OF STATE TREASURY 1830. 

General Assembly $39,927 . 52 

Executive Department 2,300 . 00 

Treasury Department 2,000 . 00 

Department of State 1,122 . 00 

Comptroller's Department 1,000.00 

Adjutant General's Office 200.00 

Public Printers 900 . 00 

Judiciary 24,567 . 00 

Sheriffs for settling taxes 1,013 . 15 

Congressional Elections 93.32 

Repairs of State House 1,111 . 53 

Public Library 100 . 00 

State Bank of IsT. C, interest on deferred 

payment 3,356 . 24 

Pensioners 930 . 00 

Governor's House 13 . 10 

Stock in Roanoke Navigation Company. . . 9,500.00 

Treasury Notes burnt, session 1829 19,971 .854 

Money burnt 123 . 20 

Contingencies 6,081 . 30 

Wm. M. Sneed, agent appointed by the 
Governor under the resolution of 1829, 
to adjust and liquidate the claim of 

the State against the United States 1,000.00 

Boffue Banks 59 . 10 



Total $115,369 . 37^ 

— From Treasurer's Report to Legislature, 1830. 



476 



15. SLAVES MUST NOT BE TAUGHT TO READ AND WRITE. 

Comniittee on Slavery and Free Persons of Color, senate committee. 
William B. Meares, New Hanover; William Montgomery, 
Orange ; Richard D. Speight, Craven ; Marshall Dickin- 
son, Pitt; Louis D. Wilson, Edgecombe. 

Thomas Hill, Kew Hanover ; Robert McAfee, Ruther- ^^^^^^^, eommittee. 
ford ; William Wadsworth, Moore ; Josiah Holder, John^ 
ston; D. M. Barringer, Cabarrus. 

— Senate Journal, 1830-31, pp. lJf-15. 

Dec. 1, 1830. — Mr. Meares, from the joint select com- Titles of wiis re- 
mittee, to whom was referred so much of the Governor's vent^siavei^fronf*' 

being tAiight to 

message as relates to slaves and the situation oi tree per- read and write, 
sons of colour in this State, made a detailed report thereon, 
accompanied by the following bills, to wit: A bill to pre- 
vent the gaming of slaves, and to prevent free persons 
from gaming with them or suffering them to game in 
their houses ; a bill to prevent the circulation of seditious 
publications and for other purposes ; a bill to prevent 
slaves from attending muster or election grounds on the 
days of muster or election ; a bill to prevent all persons 
from teaching slaves to read or write, figures excepted ; 
a bill to reinact a part of the first section of an act, 
passed in the year 1787, chapter 11th, entitled an act for 
hiring out persons on indictment or presentment, not be- 
ing able or willing to pay the fees of ofiice and jailor's 
fees ; a bill to amend the several laws in this State con- 
cerning slaves and free negroes ; and a bill to regulate 
the emancipation of slaves ; which bills were severally 
read the first time and passed. 

— Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 33. 

The joint select Committee, to whom was referred so The report. 

477 



478 



Slaves Must N^ot be Taught to Read. 



Combination to 
excite slaves. 



Plans to subvert 
slave relations 
formed. 



much of the Governor's Mesage, as relates to slaves and 
free persons of Colour — 

Report, That after as careful an examination into 
facts, as time and circumstances would permit, they are 
satisfied, an extensive combination now exists to excite in 
the minds of the slaves and coloured persons of this, and 
the other slave holding States, feelings and opinions sub- 
versive of good order, and utterly incompatible with the 
relation in which we stand towards that class of our popu- 
lation. 

Your Commitee are fearful, impressions have already 
been made which will not easily be effaced : and that under 
the delusion of these impresions, designs have been cer- 
tainly contemplated, and perhaps plans actually formed, 
to subvert the relation of master and ^lave. To such a 
state of things your committee cannot look, but with feel- 
ings of horror more easily conceived, than expressed. The 
actual detection of the circulation of the incendiary publi- 
cation, (a copy of which is transmitted to this Legisla- 
ture) and the accidental but partial discovery of designs, 
perha])s not fnlly developed or digested, which have been 
entertained by some slaves at points of the State remote 
from each other, together with the disclosure of facts rela- 
tive to those designs, leave no doubt on the minds of your 
Committee, that the time has arrived when it becomes the 
bounden duty of the Legislature, from which it would be 
criminal to shrink, to act with firmness and decision in so 
regulating our police, as will insure our own safety, and 
duly punish all attempts to invade it. "It is fruitless to 
complain of the relation between Master and Slave." It 
is a state of things thrown upon us, not b}- our own con- 
sent ; an evil which it is impossible at present, to remedy, 
and which we must therefore guard with all those barri- 
ers which stern policy may dictate. In the condition of 
slavery there can be no medium state. Submisison and 
obedience must be absolute and unconditional, or slavery 



Slaves Must Not be Taught to Read. 479 

must cease. And, when we observe the radical difference 
between the ideas, the dej)ortnient and habits of the slaves 
of the present day, and those of twenty years since, we 
are led justly to fear, that unless some change in our gen- 
eral police is effected, the most ruinous consequences may 
be apprehended. 

One source of great evil which suggests itself to your Teach inpr sin ves to 

, read and write one 

committee and from which the most serious danger may be causiottheiiresent 

° -^ troubles. 

apprehended, is, the teaching slaves to read and write ; 
thereby affording them facilities of intelligence and com- 
munication, inconsistent with their condition, destructive 
of their contentment and happiness, and dangerous to the 
community. To prevent these evils and the further dis- 
semination of inflammatory and seditious publications and 
the consequent contamination of the minds of our slaves, 
your Committee have reported two bills ; one to prevent 
the circulation of seditious pamphlets and other publica- 
tions ; and the other to render it criminal to teach slaves 
to read and write. The frequent intercourse between free 
negroes from non-slave holding States and our slaves is 
another source of evil, sedulously to be avoided. As some 
entertain doubts as to our constitutional rights, entirely 
to prohibit their coming into our State, at least as mari- 
ners, and for a limited time, your Committee have pur- 
sued the policy of a sister State, and thought it advisable 
to throw such obstacles in the way of vessels bringing them 
into the State, as will induce their owners and officers to 
desist from their employment ; and have reported a bill 
having that tendency. 

Various other points of policy, in regulating the general 
conduct of slaves and free persons of colour, and their 
intercourse with each other, and with our white popula- 
tion, have suggested themselves to your Committee, to 
remedy and provide for a part of which. Bills are here- 
with reported, and their pasage recommended : others not 
v(^t di2:ested, are vet under consideration and will as soon 



480 



Slaves Must Not be Taught to Read. 



Bill on second 
reading in Senate. 



as practicable be acted on and brought before the Legis- 
lature. 

All which is respectfully submitted, 

Dec. 1, 1830. Wm. B. Meares, Chm. 

— From Unpuhlished Legislative Documents, 1830-31 

Subsequent Legislative History of the Bill in Senate. 
Dec. 7, 1830. — The bill to prevent all persons from teach- 
ing slaves to read or write, the use of figures excepted, be- 
ing read the. second time, Mr. Diek^ moved to amend the 
bill by striking the words "read or," in the fifth line of 
the first section ; which amendment was not agreed to. 
Mr. Dick moved further to amend the bill by adding the 
following additional section, towit : "that the provisions 
of this act shall not extend to the county of Guilford" ; 
which amendment was also not agreed to, and the bill was 
read the second time and passed. 

— Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 1^6. 



1 John M. Dick, Guilford 



Bill on third read- 
ing in Senate. 



Dec. 9, 1830. — The bill to prevent all persons from 
teaching slaves to read or write, the use of figures ex- 
cepted, being read the third time, Mr. Dick moved to lay 
the bill upon the table; which was not agreed to. Mr. 
Montgomery moved tx) amend the bill by striking out the 
words "read or," in the fifth line of the first section; 
which amendment was not agred to. Mr. McFarland 
moved further to amend the bill by adding the following 
as an additional section, viz. "And be it further enacted, 
that this act shall not be in force until after the first day 
of May next" ; which amendment was not agreed to, and 
the bill was thereupon read the third time and passed, 
and ordered to be engrossed — ayes 36, noes 22. The ayes 
and noes being demanded by Mr. Montgomery, are as fol- 
lows, to-wit : 

480 



Slaves Must JSTot be Taught to Read. 481 

Those who voted in the affirmative, are Messrs. George Ayes and noes. 
O. Askew, Bertie ; Collen W. Barnes, ISTorthampton ; John 
B. Beasley, Tyrrell; Wm. W. Boddie, Nash; David W. 
Borden, Carteret ; Wm, W. Cowper, Gates ; John Crump, 
Montgomery ; Samnel Davenport, Washington ; Marshall 
Dickinson, Pitt; Edward C. Gavin, Sampson; AVilliam R. 
Hall, Brunswick ; John 11. Hawkins, Warren ; John Hill, 
Stokes ; Charles L. Hinton, Wake ; Shadrach Howell, 
Robeson ; Edmund Jones, Wilkes ; Jonathan J. Lindsay, 
Currituck ; Risden M. McDaniel, Jones ; John McEntire, 
Rutherford ; Tryam McFarland, Richmond ; Isham Math- 
ews, Halifax; Wm. B. Meares, ISTew Hanover; Stephen 
Miller, Duplin; Wm. D. Moseley, Lenoir; Wyatt Moye, 
Greene ; Wm. Murchison, Cumberland ; Joseph Ramsey, 
Chatham ; Richard D. Speight, Craven ; Wm. Selby, Sr., 
Hyde ; Luke R. Simmons, Columbus ; Wm. M. Sneed, 
Granville ; Walton ; Edward Ward, Ons- 
low; William P. Williams, Franklin; Jos. J. Williams, 
Martin ; Louis D. Wilson, Edgecombe. 

Those who voted in the negative, are Messrs. Abraham 
Brower, Randolph ; Pinkney Caldwell, Iredell ; John M. 
Dick, Guilford ; Wm. P. Dobson, Surry ; James Gudger, 
Buncombe ; James W. Guinn, Macon ; Jacob Hare, Hert- 
ford ; Ransom Harris, Davidson; Jos. B. Jlinton, Beau- 
fort ; Daniel Hoke, Lincoln ; James Kerr, Caswell ; Alex- 
ander McNeill, Moore ; Robert Martin, Rockingham ; 
Clement Marshall, Anson ; Christopher Melchor, Cabar- 
rus ; William Montgomery, Orange; David Newland, 
Burke ; John Ray, Ashe ; Gabriel Sherard, Wayne ; Henry 
Skinner, Perquimans ; Robert Vanhook, Person ; William 
Welch, Haywood. 

— Senate Journal, 1830-31, p. 51. 



31 



482 Slaves Must JSIot be Taught to Read. 

History of the Bill in the House. Dec. 22, 1830. — The 
engrossed bill to prevent all persons from teaching slaves 
to read or write, the use of figures excepted, was read the 
second time\ Mr. Worth moved to strike out of the bill 
the words "to read." The question thereon was decided 
in the negative — ^yeas 30, nays 93. The yeas and nays 
called for by Mr. Stedman. 

Those who voted in the affirmative were Messrs. John 

Second reading in 

the^House; ayes Q. Earnhardt, Cabarrus; Daniel M. Barringer, Cabarrus; 
Jos. M. Bogle, Iredell ; Alexander Buie, Cumberland ; 
Alney Burgin, Burke; James Calloway, Ashe; Willis D. 
Dowd, Moore; Isham A. Dumas, Richmond; Ninian Ed- 
monston, Haywood ; Joseph Ellison, Orange ; Elias A. 
Hooper, Burke ; James M. Lilly, Montgomery ; Andrew 
H. Loretz, Lincoln ; George C. Mendenhall, Guilford ; 
Alfred C. Moore, Surry ; William A. Morris, Anson ; 
James Murphey. Richmond ; Allen Peoples, Guilford ; 
Bartlett Shij^p, Lincoln ; I^athaniel G. Smith, Chatham ; 
Jos. Spurgin, Davidson ; Caleb Stephens, Columbus ; John 
Stockard, Orange; Thomas Tatham, Macon; James 
Weaver, Buncombe ; Joseph W^hite, Anson ; Jas. Whita- 
ker, Macon ; W. W. Wiseman, Davidson ; Jonathan 
Worth, Randolph; James Wyche, Granville — 30. 

Those who voted in the negative, were Messrs. W. J. 
Alexander, Mecklenburg; E. Alexander, Mecklenburg; 
Richard Allison, Iredell ; JosojJi Arrington, ITash ; W. D. 
Barnard, Currituck ; Daniel L. Bateman, Tyrrell ; J ohn 
Bragg, Warren; Wm. Branch, Franklin; Joseph J. 
Brooks, Chatham ; John Brown, Robeson ; Abraham 
Brower, Randolph ; John M. Bryan, Craven ; l^athan B. 
Bush, Jones ; Isaac Carter, Jlertford ; James A. Chesson, 
Washington; Wm. Clark, Pitt; Wm. demons, Pitt; 
Jesse Cooper, Martin ; Owen B. Cox, Jones ; Stephen 
Dodson, Caswell ; Wm. Donnell, Rockingham ; Thos. 
Dozier, Camden ; Mordecai Flemiug, Surry ; Hardy Flow- 



1 Passed first reading in tlie House on Dec. 10, 1830, without divi- 
sion. See House Journal, 1830-31, p. 209. 



Slaves Must ISTot be Tauchit to Read. 483 

ers, Edgecombe ; Frederick Foy, Onslow ; Roderick B. 
Gary, Northampton; Alexander F. Gaston, Craven; John 
P. Gause, Brunswick ; Gideon Glenn, Franklin ; Abner 
H. Grandy, Camden ; L. A. Gwyn, Caswell ; Jas. T. Ha- 
ley, jSTorthampton ; James Harper, Greene ; Louis D. 
Henry, Fayetteville ; J. A. Hill, Wilmington; Thomas 
Hill, J^ew Hanover; Robt. C. Hilliard, Nash; Josiah 
Holder, Johnston; W. Horton, Wilkes; J. Horton, Ashe; 
Philip Irion, Rockingham ; Wni. Jackson, Chowan ; Fos- 
ter Jarvis, Hyde ; John F. Jones, Carteret ; Reuben Ken- 
dall, Montgomery ; Wm. S. Larkins, New Hanover ; Thos, 
Lawson, Person; Benj. S. Leonard, Brunswick; Gray 
Little, Edgecombe ; Salter Lloyd, Bladen ; Wm. L. Long, 
Halifaxtown ; James R. Love, Haywood ; Thos. Marshall, 
Carteret; Alex. W. Mebane, Bertie; Arch. C. Monk, 
Sampson; Benj. Mullen, Perquimans; Robert McAffee, 
Rutherford ; Thos. McGehee, Person ; John W. McMillan, 
Bladen ; Alexander MdNTeill, Cumberland ; Thomas Nich- 
olson, IL^lifax; Spencer O'Brien, Granville; William 
Orr, Buncombe ; Richmond Pearson, Rowan ; Wm. H. 
Phillips, Hillsborough ; Thos. G. Polk, Rowan ; John Pur- 
cell, Robeson; Nathaniel G. Rand, Wake; John W. Sas- 
ser, Wayne; Samuel T. Sawyer, Edenton ; Benj. Sikes, 
Tyrrell; Benj. T. Simmons, Currituck; Thomas S. Sin- 
gleton, Hyde ; John M. Skinner, Pasquotank ; Dickson 
Sloan, Sampson ; Charles G. Spaight, Newbern ; W. AV. 
Stedman, Gates ; Uriah W. Swanner, Washington ; Elisha 
Uzzell, Greene; William AVadsworth, Moore; Ransom 
Walker, Warren ; AVm. Watts, Martin ; James M. Webb, 
Rutherford ; John H. Wheeler, Hertford ; Keder Whit- 
ley, Johnston ; John W. Williams, Beaufort ; Thos. Wil- 
son, Perquimans ; John Willey, Gates ; Jos. W. Winston, 
Stokes ; Council Wooten, Lenoir ; Allen W. Wooten, Le- 
noir; Wm. Wright, Duplin; Leonard Zigiar, Stokes — 93. 

Mr. Moore moved that the bill be postponed indefinitely. Amendments 

attempted. 

The question thereon was determined in the negative. 



484 Slaves Must jSTot be Taught to Read. 

Mr. J. Whitaker moved that nothing therein "contained 
shall apply to the county of Macon," This amendment 
was rejected. The bill, on motion of Mr. Bynum and Mr. 
Barnard, was amended, and the question was then put, 
shall the bill pass its second reading, as amended ? and 
decided in the affirmative — yeas 85, nays 27. The yeas 
and nays demanded by Mr. Edmonston^. 

— House Journal, 1830-31, p. 231. 

^ The bill passed third reading without division. See House Jour- 
nal, 1830-31, pp. 288 and 243. 

An act to prevent all persons from teaching slaves to 
read or write, the use of figures excepted. 
The act. Whereas the teaching of slaves to read and write has a 

tendency to excite dissatisfaction in their minds and to 
produce insurrection and rebellion, to the manifest injury 
of the citizens of the State : THEREFORE, 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
North Carolina, and is hereby enacted by the authority of 
the same, That any free person; who shall hereafter teach 
or attempt to teach, any slave within this State to read 
or write, the use of figures excepted, or shall give or sell 
to such slave or slaves any books or pamphlets, shall be 
liable to indictment in any court of record in this State 
having jurisdiction thereof; and, upon conviction, shall, 
at the discretion of the court, if a white man or woman, 
be fined not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than 
two hundred dollars, or imprisoned ; and if a free person 
of color, shall be fined, imprisoned or whipped, at the 
discretion of the court, not exceeding thirty-nine lashes, 
nor less than twenty lashes. 

II. Be it further enacted. That if any slave shall here- 
after teach, or attempt to teach, any other slave to read 
or write, the use of figures excepted, he or she may be 
carried before any justice of the peace, and on conviction 
thereof, shall be sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes on 
his or her bare back. 



Slaves Must ISTot be Taught to Read. 485 

III. Be it further enacted, That the judges of the Su- 
perior Courts and the justices of the County Courts shall 
give this act in charge to the grand jurors of their re- 
spective counties. 

—Lmvs 1830-31, Chapter VI. 



16. CENSUS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



Counties. 



Ashe 

Anson 

Burke 

Buncombe _. 
Brunswick _. 

Bertie 

Beaufort 

Bladen 

Craven 

Cabarrus 

Currituck __. 

Caswell 

Ciiowan 

Camden __... 

Chatham 

Coltunbus -.. 
Cumberland. 

Carteret 

Duplin 

Davidson 

Edgecombe- 
Franklin 

Granville 

Gates 

Guilford 

Greene 

Hyde 

Halifax 

Haywood 

Hertford 

Iredell 

John.ston 

Jones 

Lincoln 

* Decrease. 





Census 


of 1830. 




Census 


of 1820. 






Free 








Whites. 


Slaves. 


Persons 

of 
Color. 


Total. 


Total. 


Increase. 


6.397 


492 


102 


6,991 


4.335 


2,656 


9,146 


4,772 


163 


14,081 


12. 534 


1,517 


13,919 


3,6t)9 


199 


17,727 


13.411 


4,816 


14.494 


1,670 


93 


16. 259 


10, 542 


3,717 


8.014 


3,101 


408 


6,523 


5. 480 


1,043 


5,272 


6,742 


212 


12.276 


10.805 


1,471 


6, 305 


4,155 


488 


10. 949 


9,850 


1,099 


4.490 


3. 123 


188 


7.801 


7, 276 


525 


7,192 


6,131 


1,002 


14.325 


13,394 


981 


6.497 


2,255 


44 


8,796 


7,248 


1,548 


5,248 


2,274 


132 


7,654 


8,098 


*444 


8.899 


6,431 


355 


15, 188 


13,253 


1,935 


2,701 


3,758 


169 


6,688 


6,464 


224 


4,491 


2,029 


201 


6.721 


6,347 


374 


10,106 


5,112 


281 


15,499 


12, 661 


2,838 


3,001 


1,073 


02 


4,141 


3,912 


229 


9,081 


5,0.57 


636 


14,824 


14.446 


378 


4,875 


1,593 


139 


6, 607 


5,609 


998 


6,775 


4,429 


169 


11,373 


9,744 


1,629 


11 347 


1,923 


151 


13,421 






7. 632 


7,073 


228 


14,933 


13,276 


1.657 


5.337 


4,960 


368 


10, 665 


9.741 


924 


9.429 


9,154 


760 


19,343 


18,222 


1.121 


3,891 


3,648 


327 


7,866 


6,837 


1,029 


15.785 


2,556 


394 


18,735 


14,511 


4,224 


3.3.33 


2,872 


108 


6.313 


4,533 


1,780 


4.078 


1,939 


160 


6.177 


4,967 


1.210 


5.870 


9, 790 


2,078 


17,738 


17.237 


.501 


4,241 


289 


163 


4,593 


4,073 


520 


3,873 


3,712 


956 


8,541 


7,712 


829 


11,495 


3,740 


27 


15,262 


13,071 


2,191 


7,174 


3,639 


125 


10,938 


9,607 


1,331 


2,347 


3,095 


186 


5,628 


5,216 


412 


17, 604 


4,953 


68 


22. 625 


18, 147 


4,478 



486 



487 



16. CENSUS OF NORTH CAROLINA— Continued. 



Counties. 



Mecklenburg- 

Martin 

Moore 

Macon 

Montgomery . 
Northampton. 
New Hanover 

Nash 

Onslow 

Orange 

Person 

Pitt 

Perquimans __ 
Pasquotank __ 

Richmond 

Robeson 

Rockingham . 

Rowan 

Rutherford .._ 

Randolph 

Surry 

Sampson 

Stokes 

Tyrrell 

Wilkes 

Wake 

Wayne 

Washington _. 

Warren 

Lenoir 



Census of 1830. 



Whites. 



Slaves. 



Free 
Persons 

of 
Color. 



12,791 

4,943 

5,997 

4,894 

8,514 

5,128 

4,921 

4,504 

4,569 

15,903 

5,447 

6,837 

4,325 

4,951 

5,661 

6,280 

8,413 

14, 460 

14,054 

10,594 

12, 372 

7,596 

1 ,122 

3,298 

10,336 

11,476 

6,663 

2,713 

4,259 

3,734 



7,147 
3,281 
1,680 
458 
2,294 
7,036 
5,497 
8,707 
3,144 
7,339 
4,432 
5, 407 
2,749 
2,623 
3,512 
2,467 
4,290 
6,201 
3,407 
1,462 
1,950 
3,938 
2,841 
1,376 
1,472 
8,108 
3,520 
1,712 
7, 327 
3,875 



472,433 i 246,462 



138 
321 
176 

38 
110 
939 
341 
281 
101 
628 
148 

70 
343 
1,038 
153 
608 
211 
135 

96 
344 
185 
239 
233 

58 
137 
838 
143 
137 
292 
126 



Total . 



20,076 

8,544 

7,753 

5,390 

10,918 

13, 103 

10,759 

8,492 

7,814 

23,875 

10,027 

12, 174 

7,417 

8,616 

9,326 

9,355 

12, 920 

20,796 

17,557 

12, 400 

14, .507 

11,768 

16, 196 

4,732 

11,942 

20,417 

10, ,326 

4,562 

11,878 

7, 6.35 



Census of 1820. 



Total. 



16,895 
6,320 

7,128 



13,242 

10,866 

8, 185 

7,016 

23,492 

9,029 

10,001 

6,857 

8,008 

7,537 

8,204 

11,474 

26,009 

15, 351 

11,331 

12, 320 

8,908 

14,033 

4,319 

9,967 

20. 102 

9,040 

3,986 

11,158 

6,799 



19,575 I 788,470 I 638,829 



3,181 

2,224 

025 



2, 226 

*139 

*107 

307 

798 

383 

998 

2,173 

560 

608 

1,789 

1,151 

1,446 

*5,213 

2,206 

1,069 

2,187 

2,860 

2,163 

413 

1,975 

315 

1,286 

576 

720 

836 



99,641 



Davidson was struck off from Rowan in 1822, and if the population 
of the two counties be added together, shows an increase in what 
was Rowan in 1820 of 8,208. Macon in hke manner composed a part 
of Haywood until 1828. If the population of that county be added 
to that of Haywood, it will show an increase of 5,910. 



* Decrease. 



488 



16. CENSUS OF NORTH CAROLINA- Continued. 
Recapitulation. 



Whites. Males. 


Females. 


Total in 
1830. 


Total in 
1820. 




42,785 

34,247 

28, 792 

27,610 

41.229 

24,704 

16,455 

10, 657 

5,944 

2,470 

767 

152 

2G 






Of 5 and under 10 . 35,973 






Of 10 and under 15 ' 31,171 






1 
Of 15 and under 20 25,582 




Of "0 and under 30 ' 39, 174 


1 


Of 30 and under 40 ' 23,080 


1 
1 


Of 40 and under 50 ' 15, 076 






Of 50 and under 60 10,646 

Of 60 and under 70 5.047 










Of 70 and under SO 


2, 469 






Of SO and under 90 


650 
136 
23 






Of 90 and under 100 






Of 100 and upwards 












256, 589 


235,844 


472,483 


419, 200 



1831 

1. GOV. STOKES' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

2. ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES ON EDUCATION. 

3. McFARLAND'S RESOLUTION ON SCHOOLS AND LITERARY 

FUND. 

4. TAXATION FOR FREE SCHOOL IN JOHNSTON COUNTY. 

5. LITERARY FUND RECEIPTS. 

6. SLAVERY AND EDUCATION. 

7. A CRUEL PUNISHMENT ABOLISHED. 

8. HISTORY OF THE FIRST TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. 

9. PLAN OF SCHOOLS BY "PEOPLES' FRIEND." 
10. DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM. 

n. NECESSITY FOR SCHOOLS. 

12. LOTTERY FOR PUBLICATION OF A N. C. HISTORY REFUSED. 



489 



1. GOV. STOKES' MESSAGE ON EDUCATION. 

University refused The Literary Fund will claim and receive your favor- 
fund. ■ able attention. The Report of the Public Treasurer will 
afford you precise information with regard to the amount 
of cash in his hands, and the situation of that portion of 
the fund which is not available. It is probably known to 
all of you that the Trustees of the University did not ac- 
cept the loan offered them by the last Legislature from 
this source, so that the whole remains subject to future 
legislative disposition. The most important item of prop- 
erty transferred by the Legislature to the corporation to 
whose management the Literary Fund has been commit- 
Reciamation of ted, are the swanii) lands belonging to the State. These 

the swamp lands. .... 

lands are believed by many intelligent individuals to be 
of immense value^ and their improvement to be an object 
second only in importance to the opening and improve- 
ment of Roanoke Inlet. It is unnecesasry, I am certain, 
to dwell upon the advantages which would result from the 
former. They are apparent to all. To convert a dreary 
waste of w^ater and marshes into a habitable and fertile 
region, to insure the n^eans of sustenance and comfort for 
an immensely increased population, and to give health to 
a section of the country which needs no other blessing, 
are the certain rewards of a successful attempt at improve- 
ment. To your wisdom it is submitted, whether such ad- 
vantages, which, if attained, do not end with themselves, 
but tend to the enlargement of a fund which may justly 
be regarded as the orphan's legacy, will not justify, and 
does not demand a full and early experiment to test the 
practicability of the measure. 
Legislature will be Believing that this assembly will have much to do in 
sider subjectTf providing for the security of the people; in providing for 
its own future accommodation; and for the establishment 
of a new bank, or so directing the application of banking 
capital, as to secure a sound circulating currency ; and in 

490 



Gov. Stokes on Education. 491 

]>reventiiig injury to individuals, which must otherwise 
follow, when the charters of the present banks expire, 
these being primary objects for the consideration of the 
Legislature, I have declined making recommendations 
which I had contemplated, relative to the situation of the 
University and the establishment of common schools. 

— House Journal, 1831. 



Resolution to ap- 
point committee 
on education. 



2. ASSEMBLY COMmTTEES ON EDUCATION. 

ISTov. 24, 1831.— Mr. McFarland presented the follow- 
ing resolution, to-wit : 

Resolved, That so much of the Governor's message as 
relates to the Literary Fund and Common Schools be re- 
ferred to a select committee. Which being read, on mo- 
tion of Mr. Spaight, ordered that the said resolution lie 
on the table. 

— Senate Journal, 1831-32, p. 7. 



. Nov. 25, 1831. On motion of Mr. Spaight, the Senate 
proceeded to consider the resolution presented on yester- 
day by Mr. McFarland and laid upon the table; and the 
resolution being read, the question was decided in the 
affirmative. Whereupon Messrs. McFarland, Montgom- 
ery, of Orange, Dobson, Askew, and Davenport were ap- 
pointed the committee in pursuance thereof. 

— Senate Journal, 1831-32, 'p. 10. 

Senate committee. Tryam McFarland, Richmond ; William Montgomery, 
Orange ; William P. Dobson, Surry ; George O. Askew, 
Bertie; Samuel Davenport, Washington. 

— Senate Journal, 1831-32, p. 10. 



House committee. 



Samuel T. Sawyer, Edenton; Lewis Thompson, Bertie 
David C. Freeman, Beaufort; Ashley Sanders, Johnston 
x\rchibald Monk, Sampson ; Gideon Glenn, Franklin 
Daniel W. Courts, Surry; William L. Miller, Robeson 
Benjamin Sumner, Person; Littleton A. Gwyn, Caswell 
Hugh McQueen, Chatham; William McLean, Cabarrus 
Alney Burgin, Burke. 

—House Journal, 1831-32, p. 151. 

492 



3. McFARLAND'S RESOLUTION OX SCHOOLS AND 
LITERARY FUND. 

Saturday, Dec. 24, 1831. Mr. McFarland presented MpFariancrsreso- 

,,.,,. , , . . lution (in sctiool.-i 

the loilowmti' preamble and resolution to-wit: ami incmising 

■" literary tund. 

Whereas by the 41st section of the constitution of this 
State, it is made the imperative duty of the Legislature to 
establish schools for the convenient instruction of youth; 
and whereas all convenient aid should be given to foster 
and enlarge the present fund set apart by this State, there- 
fore. 

Resolved, That the claim of this State against the 
United States, as reported by the commissioners of 1828, 
be appropriated to the Literary Fund of this State ; and 
the treasurer is hereby authorized, as soon as said claim 
is adjusted, to enter said amount to the credit of the 
same, which shall constitute and form a part of said fund. 

Which was read, and, on motion of Mr. Williams, or- 
dered to be referred to the committee on Finance. 

— Senate Journal, 1831-32, p. 70. 

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 1831.— Mr. Sneed, from the com- ^^,^j.^^,^^^^^j^ ^^p^^^ 
mittee on Finance, to whom was referred the resolution luVrary^imcL 
instructing the Public Treasurer to transfer the claim of 
this State against the L^nited States (so soon as it shall 
be adjusted and settled) to the Literary Fund, reported 
that it is inexpedient to legislate upon the subject, and 
ask to be discharged from its further consideration ; in 
which report the Senate concurred, and the committee 
were discharged accordingly. 

—Senate Journal, 1831-32, p. 75. 



493 



I 



Bill introduced in 
senate. 



Passes senate. 



Passes house; first 
reading. 



Passes house. 



4. TAXATION FOE FREE SCHOOL IN JOHNSTON COUNTY. 

Monday, January 9, 1832. Mr. Thompson^ presented 
a bill to raise a fund to establish free schools in the county 
of Johnston, and for the government thereof, which was 
read the first time and passed. 

— Senate Journal, 1831-32, p. 112. 



1 David Thompson, Senator from Johnston county. 

Monday afternoon, January 9, 1832. A bill to raise a 
fund to establish free schools in the county of Johnston, 
and for the government thereof, was read the second and 
third times and passed, and ordered to be engrossed. 

— Senate Journal, 1831-32, p. 115. 

Tuesday, January 10, 1832. A bill to raise a fund to 
establish free schools in the county of Johnston, and for 
the management thereof was read the first time and passed. 

— House Journal, 1831-32, pp. 2Jf2 and 2J^3. 

Friday January 13, 1832. — The engrossed bill to 
raise a fund to establish free schools in the county of 
Johnston, and for the management thereof, was read the 
second and third times, passed and ordered to be enrolled\ 

— House Journal, 1831-32, p. 252. 



1 The members of the House of Commons from Johnston, 1831-32, 
were Josiah Houlder and Ashley Sanders. The Senator was David 
Thompson. 



494 



Johnston County Free School. 495 

The Laiv. An Act to raise a fund to establish free 
schools in the county of Johnston, and for the government 
thereof. 

/-v 14 77 r n ail c -Annual tax may 

Be d enacted oy the Generat Assembly of the btate of be levied. 
North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That the County Court of Johnston county 
may, at the first court which shall be held after the first 
day of May next, and annually thereafter, at least ten 
justices of the peace being present, lay a tax, and cause it 
to be levied on all the property in said county vv^hich is 
liable to be taxed for State or county purposes, equal to 
not more than twenty-five per cent, per annum, on the 
whole amount of State and county and parish taxes levied 
in said county; which shall be collected, held and used 
as a school fund for said county of Johnston, according to 
the rules and regulations hereinafter prescribed. 

II. That it shall be the duty of the sherifi^ or other col- 
lecting oflicer of said county to collect and account for the 
said taxes, under the direction of the County Court, ac- 
cording to the rules and regulations by law created for 
collecting other taxes in said county; and he may be re- 
quired to give a bond to the chairman of said court, in the 
penal sum of two thousand dollars, conditioned for the 
faithful collecting and accounting for said taxes. 

III. That it shall be the duty of the clerk of the County 
Court to take and receive from the sheriff the taxes afore- 
said, who shall keep an account thereof, and hold the said 
monies in his oflice subject to the direction and control of 
the persons who are hereinafter authorized to manage the 
said fund ; and the clerk shall give a bond with security, 
in the sum of two thousand dollars conditioned for the 
faithful discharge of the duties imposed by this act, and 
the honest accounting for the funds aforesaid. 



496 Johnston County Free School. 

Trustees to be IV. That the Countv Court aforesaid shall cause an 

elected; only per . i i i i /> • -i r-^ • i t 

sons taxed to vote election to be held lor one trustee m each Captani s dis- 

for trustees. _ _ _ _ -^ 

trict in said county, each district electing its own trustee, 
of which election public notice shall be given ; and in the 
said election each free white man who is taxed under this 
law shall have one vote ; and the said trustees shall consti- 
tute a board, and hold their appointment for two years 
from the time of their appointment ; and the said board 
shall be styled "The Trustees of the Central County School 
of Johnston county." 

V. That the election of trustees shall be held at such 
times and places, as the County Court shall direct, within 
six months after the period when the taxes laid by this act 
shall fall due, and biennially thereafter ; and the said 
trustees, after their appointment, shall be notified thereof 
by the clerk of the County Court, and shall within twenty 
days thereafter assemble at Smithfield, and appoint one 
of their body president and another secretary, and give 
notice by advertisement of their proceedings, so that the 
citizens may know who the said president and trustees 
are. 

VI. That the trustees shall have power and authority 
to make rules and orders for their own government, and 
compel the obedience and attendance of the members of 
the board by fines, to be by them fixed, and which fines 
shall be recoverable by a warrant before any magistrate, 
in the name of the clerk of the County Court and his 
successor in office, and when collected shall go to increase 
the school fund aforesaid. 

School house and VII. That the said trustees shall, as soon as it can be 

farm; other schools 

provided for. ^^j^g ^^,-|]^ ^jjg fund aforesaid, purchase a site and erect 

a school house or school houses in said county for the edu- 
cation of youths, with a farm attached if thought advisa- 
ble ; and the same shall be the principal or central school 
of said county ; but the selection of said site shall be ap- 
proved by the County Court before the same is purchased 



JoHxsTON County Free School. 497 

and improved ; and the title of the said site and the land 
attached to it shall be made to the clerk of the County 
Court and his successor in office, in trust, for the use of 
the trustees aforesaid, and the purposes declared in this 
act. 

VIII. That the trustees aforesaid shall have power to poor children to be 
select from the several districts in said county, always be"aught; tifosef 

1 . ,1 IX- 1 1- i • ^ ^ • educated may be 

navmg the same number irom each district, poor and m- required to teach 
digent male children, who shall be educated at said 
school in the English language only ; and such indigent 
children shall be boarded together and clothed out of the 
said fund, during the time of their attendance at said 
school, free from any charge ; and the said trustees shall 
have power to require, under such rules as they may pre- 
scribe, of any person taught at said school that he shall 
teach others either in his trade, or his books in said school, 
or other free schools to be organized in said county until 
he shall come to the age of twenty one years ; or they may 
require of him, if they think best, after he has been edu- 
cated as aforesaid, to aid in the cultivation of the farm 
aforesaid, for the time aforesaid ; and no child whose 
father is living, shall be admitted in said school, unless 
his father will in writing under seal agree to submit, and 
cause his son to submit, to such regulations, which agree- 
ment shall be made wath the trustees aforesaid and en- 
tered into by a deed executed to the clerk of the 
County Court aforesaid and his successor in office, in 
trust for the board aforesaid ; and no orphan child 
shall be admitted in said school unless he shall 
have been bound as an apprentice to said trustees 
and their successors by the County Court; and the said 
trustees, and their successors are hereby declared to be 
able and capable in law to have apprentices bound to 
them : Provided always, that the said trustees shall fur- 
nish the said child during the term of his service afore- 
said his necessary clothes and board: And provided fur- 
32 



498 



Johnston County Free School. 



Trustees to report 
to county court. 



Pay scholars may 
be admitted. 



tlier, that they may allow the parents, guardians or friends 
of said child to pay to the fund aforesaid a reasonable 
compensation for the education of the child aforesaid, and 
thereby release him from the obligation aforesaid, which 
compensation shall be fixed by a majority of said ti'us- 
tees at a regular meting of the board. 

IX. That the said trustees shall have power and au- 
thority, with the fund aforesaid, to employ a teacher of 
said school, and some competent person to manage the 
farm attached to it, upon such terms as they may be able 
to agree on ; and they shall report in writing every six 
months to the County Court the progress and condition 
of said school, the conduct of the scholars by name, and 
render with said report an account of the fund and the 
disbursements thereof. 

X. That the said trustees may have power and author- 
ity to admit in said school other students, not exceeding 
ten, until the fund shall be in a condition to warrant an 
entire exclusion of all but free scholars ; and the rates 
of tuition and board of said scholars shall be uniform ; but 
in no case shall any scholar who pays tuition be admitted 
over the age of thirteen years. 

XL That when the fund by this act created will justify, 
and the interest of the school require it, the trustees afore- 
said may employ one or more artificers as instructors of 
the youths belonging to said school, and prescribe rules for 
the government both of the boys and master. 

XII. That the trustees aforesaid may make such allow- 
ance as they may think reasonable to the clerk of the 
County Court for acting as their treasurer, and the clerk 
shall be entitled to no other compensation for his services, 
and he shall be entitled to no fees for apprentices bound 
to said trustees. 

XIII. That the president of said Central School shall 
have full power to call said board of trustees together, 
whenever he may think the good of the school requires it, 
five of whom, exclusive of the president, shall constitute 



Johnston County Free School. 499 

a quorum for the transaction of business in all things, 
except in the expenditure of the funds, and in that case 
it shall require a majority of the whole number to con- 
stitute a quorum. 

— Private Laivs, 1S31-32, pp. 96-99, Chapter CXV. 



5. LITERARY FUND RECEIPTS. 

The receipts of money belongiug to this Fund since the 
2Sth day of Dec. 1830, to the 1st ]^ov. 1831, including 
the transfer (per resolution) of 29,074 dollars 96 cents, 
amount to thirty-seven thousand twenty-one dollars and 
thirty-six cents, and consists of the following sums, viz. 
Cash received for entries of 

vacant land $1,684.27 

Ditto for tax on sales at auc- 
tion received of sundry auc- 
tioneers 277 . 73 

Ditto for tavern tax received of 

Sheriffs 2,594.40 

$4,556.40 

Cash rec'd of State Bank of N. 

C. for dividends on 282 

shares of stock, (o\\aied by 

the President and Directors 

of this Fund) at 2 per cent. 

for the half year ending 

Dec. 1830 564.00 

Ditto ditto dividend on the 

above shares for the half 

year ending June, 1831. . . . 564.00 

Ditto Bank of Cape Fear, divi- 
dends on 50 shares of stock 

(owned by the President and 

Directors of this Fund) at 

3 per cent, for the year end- 
ing with December, 1830. . . 2,112.00 

3,390.00 

This sum transferred from the unappropri- 
ated money in the hands of the Public 
Treasurer, and placed at credit of this 

Fund, as directed by resolution of Gen- 
eral Assembly 29,074.96 

500 



Literary Fund Receipts. 501 

Making with the balance belonging to this 
Fnnd and delivered over by the com- 
mittee of Finance on the 29th Dec. 

1830, of 37,455 . 12^ 

The amount of 74,476. 48^ 

There has been no expenditure from this Fund for the 

period above stated. 

— From Report Public Treasurer, Nov. ISSl. 



Slaves discon- 
tented. 



Restrictive laws 
have failed. 



6. SLAVERY AND EDrCATIOJf. 

Gov. SfoJi-es on Slavci-y. In relation to onr internal 
concerns, I have to observe, that it would be impossible 
to conceal from the world, and needless to disguise from 
ourselves, the fact, that a certain class of the population 
of the State have become more discontented and ungov- 
ernable than heretofore. Fanatics of their own complex- 
ion, and other incendiaries, have fomented these discon- 
tents, and have incited them in many instances, to enter 
into conspiracies dangerous to the peace and safety of the 
countiy. To guard against these evils, which in all proba- 
bility will continue, the utmost caution and prudence are 
necessary. Restrictive laws have been enacted without 
producing the desired result ; and the crimes committed 
in a late insurrection in an adjoining State, would seem 
Better ix>iice regu- to require further and early attention to this subject. In- 

lations. 

stead of multiplying severe and sanguinary laws to operate 
upon those who know little, and care less about them, 
would it not be advisable to establish a more efficient and 
accountable police, and to arm and equip one or more com- 
panies of volunteers or attached militia, in each county, 
to be called out when required, and to be paid while in 
actual service i It is believed that such a force, in aid 
of the civil authority, would effectually secure the peace 
of the country ; and the public arms belonging to the State 
could not be placed in safer hands. These State troops 
might be enrolled for one or more years, be held responsi- 
ble for the arms and ammunition furnished, and not be 
suffered to abandon the service during the term of their 
engagement. 

— Froin Message to Legislature, Nov. 22, 1831. 



502 



Slavery aad Education. 503 

iSIarcs Shall Not Be TaiKiht to Read. A Bill to repeal to permit teaching 

■■' ^ slaves to read. 

part of an act, passed at the last General Assembly, Chap. 
6. Entitled, an act to prevent all persons from teaching 
slaves to read, or write, the use of ligures excepted. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, 

That so much of the before recited act, as makes it an 
indictable oifence, to teach slaves to read, Be, and the same 
is hereby Repealed.^ 

In Ho: of Commons Dec 16, 1S31 on motion by Mr. clerk's entr>-. 
Sawyer postponed indefinitely. 

— Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1831. 



^ Introduced by James Whitaker, of Macon. 

Negroes Must Not Preach.- — An act for the better re<>Ti- ., 

'^ o No negro allowed 

lation of the conduct of negroes, slaves and free persons of ^ Pleach, 
color. 

That it shall not be lawful under any pretence for any 
free negro, slave or free person of color to preach or exhort 
in public, or in any manner to officiate as a preacher or 
teacher in any prayer meeting or other association for 
worship where slaves of different families are collected 
together ; and if any free negro or free person of color 
shall be thereof duly convicted on indictment before any 
court having jurisdiction thereof, he shall for each offense 
receive not exceeding thirty-nine lashes on his bare back ; 
and where any slave shall be guilty of a violation of this 
act, he shall on conviction before a single magistrate re- 
ceive not exceeding thirty-nine lashes on his bare back. 

IT. That it shall not be lawful for any slave to go at no slave to exercise 

1 J. .... ,' T,' any privilege of a 

large as a freeman, exercising his or her own discretion freeman, 
in the employment of his or her time; nor shall it be law- 
ful for any slave to keep house to him or herself as a free 
person, exercising the like discretion in the employiuenv 



504 



Slavery and Education. 



of his or her time; and in case the owner of any slave 
shall consent or connive at the commission of snch offence, 
he or she so offending shall be subject to indictment, and 
on conviction l)e fined in the discretion of the Court not 
exceeding one hundred dollars: Provided, that nothing 
herein shall be construed to prevent anv person permitting 
his or her slave or slaves to live or keep house upon his or 
her land for the purpose of attending to the business of 
his or her master or mistress. 

— Laws lSSl-32, Chap. IV , p. 7. 



More rigid 
measures neceiisarv 



Free negroes 
growing worse, 
evils of free black 
population. 



Many slaves have 
too much liberty. 



Assembly Report on Slavery. The Committee to whom 
was referred so much of the Governor's Message as relates 
to slaves, free negroes and free persons of colour and incen- 
diary publications respectfully Report — 

That they have examined with attention the subject 
committed to their consideration, and are fully impressed 
with the belief, that a period has arrived, which imperi- 
ously requires of the Legislature the adoption of some 
more rigid system of government for the conduct of slaves 
and free persons of colour. Upon examination it appears 
evident to the Committee, that the conduct and behavior 
of this description of our population, generally speaking, 
for several preceding years, has been from better to worse ; 
that a spirit of uneasiness and insubordination among the 
slaves has been increasing; whilst the free persons of 
colour appear to have relaxed from labor and industrious 
pursuits and subsist in most instances by corrupting the 
slaves to steal from their owners. The Committee beg 
leave to state that this pernicious traffic is not confined to 
the slaves with free persons of colour but is carried on 
between slaves properly called so, and free slaves ; that 
from a total disregard of the present laws, the evil felt 
by the existence of a free black population has been much 
increased, by a practice of considerable extent and of dan- 
gerous tendency' by which slaves are permitted to go at 



Slavery and Educatiox. 505 

large and act as freemen; keeping house to themselves, 
with horses, cattle, and stock of all kinds, and in some 
instances with hired slaves under their control — in short, 
being perfect masters of their own time and employment, 
to all intents as fully as freemen. The C'onmiittee enter- 
tain the opinion that to this state of things is to be attrib- 
uted in a great degree that daring spirit of insubordination, 
so obviously increasing amongst this description of people. 
The Legislature has from time to time modified the rigour 
of such law^s as inflict penalties upon slaves, and have 
afforded to them, by laws recently passed, when tried for 
their lives, the same safeguards, that are provided for the 
lives of freemen : Whilst the State has been thus mindful 
of the claims of justice, a corresponding system of humani- 
ty and indulgence has been evidenced by masters in the 
treatment of slaves — . In most instances the Committee be- slaves happier 
lieve it may be said with truth, the slave is happier than 
his master; and in nearly all, better off, than the free 
person of colour: From a policy so just in the Legisla- 
ture, so mild and humane in the master ; better conduct 
and behaviour in the slave might be expected : But the Humane measures 
Committee believe they will be sustained by the observa- disorder. 
tion of every person, that in proportion as their treatment 
has been mild and huuiane, their conduct has been turbulent 
and disorderly. That an insurrectionary disposition has 
been manifested in neighboring States, are facts known to 
the Community, and recent occurrences prove, that a simi- causes of disorder. 
lar spirit has found its way into this State. The Com- 
mittee believe that this feeling has been produced in this 
State amongst the slaves, by the following causes : first 
by the circulation of pamphlets ; secondly by the black 
preachers ; thirdly by slaves exercising the privilege of 
freemen ; and fourthly by the free persons of color. As incendiary pam- 

1 "^ ' . -r 1 phlets. 

to the pamphelts they are printed to the !North and are 
highly calculated to inspire such a disposition. Those re- 
ferred to in the message of his Excellency have been 



;06 



Slavery ais'd Education. 



Black j)reachers. 



Slaves acting as 
freemen. 



examined by the Committee, and they fear, there is much 
reason to apprehend others of a similar character have 
found their way into many parts of this State. The com- 
mittee, however, do not perceive, that any amendment can 
be made to the existing laws in respect to the circulation 
of these pamphlets, by any direct legislation upon that 
offence ; but that the least safe guard against their circu- 
lation, is, by closing such avenues as are most likely to 
afford them a passage : One of these and the most direct, 
is afforded by persons of color coming from another State 
by water ; they are exempted from the examination and 
observation which always attends traveling by land ; whilst 
it furnishes better opportunities to avoid detection ; and 
their arrival being mostly in the towns, furnishes ready 
opportunities for distribution to a greater extent. 

As to the black preachers, they are most of them igno- 
rant and superstitious, and there is too much reason to 
believe, that they expound many of the passages of sacred 
writ as prophesies of the judgments of vengeance, which 
they are to be the instruments of executing. 

As to the slaves who exercise the privileges of freemen — 
these privileges excite dissatisfaction in the minds of those 
to whom they are not extended. They receive and enter- 
tain other slaves in their houses, and seduce them in every 
way from their duty. They tempt others to steal and re- 
ceive the property ; they instil into other slaves the injus- 
tice and rigour exercised by the master ; and by their 
exemption from all control in the application of their time, 
they possess the best opportunities of communicating with 
other slaves and arranging every preparation necessary for 
a common design. To those who own horses, as the fact 
is in some instances, there is afforded additional means. 
This description of slaves generally make a pretence of 
raising a crop. This renders their detection more diffi- 
cult and though it may be easy to establish that they sell 
and consume more than they grow; yet the impractica- 



Slavery axd Education. 507 

Lility of showing by legal evidence, how or in what way 
they have violated any existing law, has hitherto left them 
in the full and open enjoyment of this injurious traffic, 
and which cannot, as the committee believe, be effectually 
prevented but by the enactment of additional laws. 

As to the free persons of colour ; their intercourse with 
the slaves operates pretty much in the same way. They 
gamble with the slaves; they buy from them, at very low 
prices, corn, cotton and other articles, stolen from the 
master ; they inculcate in the minds of slaves that there 
is no offence in stealing the master's goods ; and they con 
tribute in every way, together wdth the free-slaves, who 
have been adverted to to render the slave dissatisfied with 
Bis master — nay, with his own condition. These people 
from being freemen, have opportunities of receiving these 
pernicious pamphlets which have already been noted ; and 
in many instances being taught to read and write, they 
disseminate tlie mischievous doctrines they contain. 

By cutting up all intercourse with these classes of peo- 
ple, the Committee is not aware that there will be the 
slightest abridgment of comfort; whilst, on the other hand, 
they believe that a great portion of public mischief, al- 
ready felt, would be removed. 

The Committee have believed that if the free blaclv Restrictions on 

free negroes. 

population was required annually to give bond and security 
for their good behaviour the public would be beneficially 
served. The idle would be compelled to labor in order 
to become able to give security, or forced to leave the 
State ; the vagabond without character must leave the 
State ; and besides the value which now results to society 
from the industrious habits of this people, there would be 
the less temptation held out to them to corrupt the slaves. 

These being the views of the committee, they have felt j^^^^.^ should be 
it their duty, under the reference made to them, to report ^ ^eo™"* > ^"force 
to the Legislature the provisions in detail, which are re- 
ispectfully presented for its consideration, in the shape 



508 Slavery and Education. 

of a bill. The whole history of the laws respecting slaves 
and free persons of colour, evince the necessity at this 
time of a vigorous enforcement of the laws, and with a 
view of producing that certain obedience which is the ob- 
ject of all laws, the Committee entertain the confident 
hope that the bill herewith re})orred, if passed into a law- 
will have that effect amongst this part of our population 
to produce new manners and habits by which their comfort 
and happiness will be promoted, and the interest and safe- 
ty of the country at large increased. 

Clerk's entry on Rcport fiom the Committee on Slaves, etc. 

therei>ort. " j^^ g^^^^^^ 24th Decr. 1831. 

Reported from the Committee by the Chairman and the 
accompanying Bill put upon its passage. 

Mr. Seaw-ell Chr. 

— Unpublished Legislative Documents, 1S31. 



7. A CRUEL PUNISHMENT ABOLISHED. 

An act to abolish the punishment of cutting off ears, cutting off ea: 
That it shall not be lawful hereafter to inflict the pun- 
ishment of cutting off the ears, but the same is hereby 
abolished ; any law or usage to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing: Provided, that in all cases where by the existing 
laws the cutting off an ear or ears is prescribed, or part 
■of the prescribed punishment, the offender on conviction 
shall in lieu thereof be sentenced to receive one or more 
juiblic whippings, not less than thirty-nine lashes on his 
-bare back : And provided also, that this act shall not ex- 
tend to the punishment of any perjury or subornation 
of perjury, committed iipon the trial of any capital 
offence. 

—Laws 1831-32, Chap. XII, p. 10. 



509 



8. HISTORY OF THE FIRST TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. 

Tennessee con Literary Convention. — In the last Reqister. we took 

vention. ^ '^ ^ 

some notice of a literary Convention lately held at Nash- 
ville, for the purpose of promoting the extension of Edu- 
cation amongst the people of Tennessee. It may be recol- 
lected, that in the month of July last, a writer in this 
paper, under the signature of Poedophilus, called the at- 
tention of the friends of Education and the cause of Liter- 
ature, in this State to this subject, and suggested the pro- 
priety of a meeting at Raleigh during the then ensuing 
session of the Legislature. But nothing further being said 
on the matter, the session passed without any attention 
to it. 
Conventions in Siuce that period. Conventions of this kind have been 

other states; similar i i i • i 

one in Nortii held in Several of the States, and measures adopted, which 

we have no doubt, will effectually promote the end pro- 
posed, viz. the establishment of Common Schools, with 
competent Teachers in every neighborhood. A number of 
Gentlemen, desirous of promoting the general Education 
of the Peoj)le of this State, are solicitous of again calling 
the attention of the friends of Education, and of Teachers 
generally, to this subject, and for this purpose, propose to 
hold a Convention at Chapel Hill, on the day before the 
ensuing Commencement of our University. 

Suggests that It is known to most of our readers, that our Legislature, 

convention at . c i 

Chapel mil form m the year 1825, passed an act to create a fund for the 

a plan for common "^ ' ^ 

schools. establishment of Common Schools throughout the State ; 

but, though a considerable fund has, since that time accu- 
mulated, nothing further has been done to carry the in- 
tention of the General Assembly into operation. The fund 
is placed in the hands of a Corporation, consisting of the 
Governor, the Speakers of the Senate and House of Com- 
mons, the Chief Justice, and the Public Treasurer, for the 
purpose of instructing the children of the State generally, 

510 



f^IKST TEACKEiJ!?' As.SUC'IATIOK. 511 

iu Keading, Writing aud Arithmetic, in such way as the 
Legislature may direct. No plan for eti'ecting this pur- 
pose has yet been adopted; and perhaps no more suitable 
occasion will occur for forming such a plan, than that 
which will be afforded by the contemplated meeting of 
Teachers and other friends of Education, at Chapel Hill. 
The subject is one of primary importance, as in the absence 
of education amongst the people generally, we have no 
certain foundation for a continuance of our happy Repub- 
lican Institutions, or for the happiness and prosperity, 
which we at present enjoy. 

We refer our readers to a sensible, well written Essay systems of other 

, ii7->-/ ,1 !•,(», iTi- /^ States not suited to 

m today s Hegister, on the subject oi establishing Common North carouna. 
Schools throughout the State ; but this writer takes no 
notice of the Acts of our Legislature, above referred to. — 
We are of opinion, with the author of this Essay, that the 
systems of Education in use at the North are not suited to 
our thinly settled Country ; but though these systems be 
not applicable to our situation, we have no doubt that at 
the proposed meeting (which we trust will be attended by 
the writer of this Essay, as well as by all other friends of 
Education) such a Plan may be devised as will be calcu- 
lated to suit the circumstances of our State, and be the 
means of carryino; info full effect the views of the Legis- 
lature, who passed an act so truly wise, patriotic and be- 
nevolent. 

— Raleigh Register, Thursday, May 12th, 1831. 

A CONVENTION 

Of Teachers and Friends of General Education. 
It is proposed, by a number of persons who feel inter- ^^,^j, ^_^^ ^,^^ ^_^^ 
ested in the subject, to hold a Convention of Teachers and veauon at chapei 
Friends of General Education, in this State, at Chapel 
Hill, on the day before the ensuing Commencement of our 
University, for the purpose of mutual consultation, and 



512 



First Teachers' Association. 



the discussion of subjects connected with Education and 
the advancement of knowledge. 

It is hoped that the Teachers throughout the State, and 
others friendly to Learning,, will attend this meeting for 
the purposes above stated, and for taking into consideration 
the expediencv of organizing a permanent Council, or Sen- 
atus Academicus, who shall meet periodically for the afore- 
mentioned objects. 

Raleigh, May 19, 1831. 

— //( Raleigh Begister, May 19, 1831. 



Examination. 



Literary oration. 



U1^^IVERSITY OF ^tqeTH CAROLINA.— It af- 
fords us much gratification to state that the Commence- 
ment of this Institution was numerously attended, and 
that the Exercises were sustained to the satisfaction of 
the Trustees and other Visitors. 

The Examination of the younger classes was commenced 
on the 15th inst. and continued until the 2 2d. The Senior 
Class, had, by the particular direction of the Board of 
Trustees, been examined by the Faculty three weeks be- 
fore. On the evenings of Monday, Tuesday and Wednes- 
day, there was speaking, as is usual, by the members of the 
Freshman, Sophomore and Junior classes. 

On Wednesday, the Literary Oration, of which public 
notice has been given through this paper, was delivered by 
the Rev. William M. Green, of Hillsboro. Those who are 
acquainted with this gentleman, and who know how much 
his mind and heart are occupied by one engrossing subject, 
would have conjectured beforehand, that an Oration from 
him would have some connexion with Religion. ^ — We learn 
that the subject matter of it, was, the influence of Chris- 
tianity upon the happiness of Nations. We think the se- 
lection of the topic a judicious one ; we cannot see why a 
C^lcrgyman addressing a Christian audience, should be ex- 
pected to forget altogether, the sacred character he sus- 
tains. The Orator Avas listened to with sTcat interest, but 



First Teachers' Association. 513 

as we shall take an early opportunity of presenting it to 
our readers, a particular analysis here of the sentiments 
advanced, if we were competent to the task, is rendered 
unnecessary. 

On Wednesday afternoon, a Convention of Teachers and J^f^^""^^ conyon- 
other Literary gentlemen interested in the subject of Edu- 
cation, was held, for the purpose of devising means for 
giving perfection and efficiency to the instruction commu- 
nicated in our public Schools of whatever rank. We in- 
dulge the expectation, that we shall have it in our power, 
hereafter, to give to the public, a particular account of this 
meeting, which we deem of great importance, tending, as 
it must do to enlighten and regulate public sentiment in 
regard to the important subject of Popular Education. 

The following was the order of Exercises on Thursday, 
the day of Commencement : — 

EORENOOIs^. 

1. Prayer by the President. commencement 

2. Latin Salutory Oration, DeBeraiere Hooper, Wil- '"^"s^'""- 
mington. 

?>. Literature of Modern Italy, Jacob Thompson, Leas- 
burg. 

4. National Pride, Lemuel B. Powell, Warren. 

5. Forensic Dispute — Ought the Southern States to es- 
tablish Manufactures ? Henry J. Cannon, Raleigh, James 
M. Williamson, Person. 

(>. Means of promoting national wealth, Giles Mebane, 
Orange. 

7. National Llistory,. Thomas J. Pitchford, Warren. 

AFTERNOON. 

8. Inducements to men of talents for the due improve- 
ment of their powers. William W. Spear, Hillsborough. 

0. Forensic Dispute- — Ought the Colonization Society to 
33 



514 



First Teachers' Association. 



be encouraged ? Jesse A. Waugli, Waiighton, Thomas K. 
Owen, Bladen. 

10. Forensic Dispute — Ought measures to be adopted 
for the prevention of war 'I Archibald A. T. Smith, Fay- 
etteville, Allen Jones, Hillsborough. 

11. Valedictory Oration, Calvin Jones, Pulaski, Tenn. 

12. Degrees conferred. 

13. Report of Examinations. 

14. Prayer. 

Degrees. The Degree of Batchelor of Arts, was conferred upon 

the young gentleman named in the foregoing scheme, and 
upon James Grant, Jun. of Raleigh, and Alexander Meb- 
ane, of Orange, 

The Degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon the 
Hon. Abraham Eencher, Benjamin B. Blunie, Albert Y. 
King, Silas M, Andrews, Thompson Byrd and Erasmus 
D. J^orth, Alumni of the Institution, and upon James B. 
Tate, instructor in Bertie county. 

— Raleigh liegister, Thursday,, June 30, 1831. 



Is^ORTH CAROLINA INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 

The object. It will be remembered that an advertisement appeared 

in several of the newspapers of this State, requesting the 
attention of teachers and the friends of education at Chapel 
Hill on the 2'2nd inst. the day preceding the commence- 
ment, with a view to organize a Society having for its ob- 
ject the diffusion of knowledge on the subject of education, 
and the improvement of common schools and other literary 
institutions in our State. 

First officers. At the time and place ap])ointed, there was a numerous 

and highly respectable meeting. Dr. Simmons J. Baker 
was called to the chair. The objects of the meeting were 
explained by Mr. Benjamin j\I. Smith, of Milton, in an 
appropriate and highly interesting address. On motion, 
the following persons were appointed a committee to draft 



First Teachers' Association. 515 

a constitution, to wit. Professors Miteliell and Hooper of 
the University, Rev. William M. Green, Benj. M. Smith 
and W. J. Bingham. The meeting then adjourned to 
Thursday morning at G o'chx^k. 

Thursday morning — Met according to adjournment. 
The committee appointed for that purpose submitted the 
following constitution which was adopted. 

CONSTITUTIOK 

Preamble. We, whose names are subjoined, pledging 
our zealous efforts to promote the cause of populax educa- 
tion, agree to ado])t the following constitution, and to obey 
the by-laws made in conformity with it. 

Article 1. This society shall be called the Xorth Caro- improvement of 

1 n 1 T /v schools. 

Una Institute of Education, its object shall be, to dittuse 
knowledge on the subject of education, and by every proper 
means to improve the condition of common schools and 
other literary institutions in our State. 

Art. 2. Members. — Any person of good moral char- conditions of 

•^ ^ '^ membership. 

acter, interested in the subject of education, may become a 
member of this institution, by signing the constitution and 
making an annual contrilnition of one dollar ; or by paying 
the sum of ten dollars may become a member for life, and 
be exempt from the annual contribution. 

Art. 3. Meetings. — The annual meetings of this institu- Meetings. 
tion shall be held at Chapel Hill, on the afternoon preced- 
ing Commencement, at such hour as the directors shall 
appoint. Special meetings may be called by the directors^ 
of which due notice shall be given in the ])ublic Journals. 

Art. 4. Officers. The officers of this institution shall be Qf^^^j.^ 
a President, three Vice-Presidents, a corresi)onding and 
recording Secretary, (the last of whom phall act as Treas- 
urer,) and an executive committee of three, who shall con- 
stitute a board of directors. 

A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum to 
transact business. 



516 First Teachers' Association. 

The officers shall be elected by ballot, at the annual 
meeting of the Institute. 

Duties of officers. Art. 5. Duties of Officers. The recording secretary 
shall give notice of each meeting of the Institute, and of 
the board of directors, and shall also keep a record of their 
transactions. He shall receive all the moneys, and dis- 
burse the same by order of the board of directors. 

The corresponding Secretary shall be the organ of com- 
munication with other societies and individuals. 

Bofirdofdircetors. To the board of directors shall be intrusted the general 
interests of the Institute, with authority to devise and exe- 
cute such measures as may promote its objects. It shall be 
their duty to point out some suitable person to deliver an 
address before the society, at each annual meeting ; to se- 
lect competent persons to deliver lectures on such subjects 
connected with education, as they may deem expedient and 
useful ; to collect such facts as may promote the general 
objects of the Institute, and to provide suitable accommo- 
dations for the meeting. They shall report annually to 
the Institute, and shall have power to fill all vacancies in 
their own body from among the members, and make by- 
laws for their own government. 

Executive com- The executive committee of three, shall take charge of 

whatever books, pamphlets, or other property, may belong 
to the Institute. They shall examine the annual address, 
reports and all other, communications made to the Insti- 
tute, and publish such as, in their estimation, will tend to 
throw light on the subject of education, and aid the faith- 
ful instructor in the discharge of his duty. 

The board of directors, as soon as convenient after each 
annual meeting, sliall select subjects for lectures at the next 
annual meeting, and assign them to proper persons. 

Art. 6. The meetings of this institution shall be opened 
with prayer. 

By-laws. -'^I't. 7. By-laws, not repugnant to this constitution^ 

may be adopted at any regular meeting. 



First Teachees' Association. 517 

Art. 8. This constitution may be altered or amended 
l)y a vote of two-thirds of the members present at the an- 
nual meeting, provided such proposed amendment or alter- 
ation be made known to the board of directors at their 
stated meeting, next preceding the annual meeting of the 
Institute, and receive their concurrence. 



The follo\vin<i gentlemen were elected officers, and con- Officers for next 

'~ , year. 

stitute the board of directors: 



SiMMOxs J, Baker, President 
Wm. M'Pheeters, D.D 



\vu 



Rev. W^f. M. Greex, > Vice-Presidents. 

Hon. Frederick Xash. I 

Dr. Walter A. Xorwood. Recording Secretary. 

W. J. BixcrHA.M. Corresponding Secretary. 

Professor Mitchell, | 

Professor Hooper, > Executive Committee. 

Professor Phillips, I 

The board of Directors met in the afternoon, and made 
the following appointments. 

To deliver an address before the annual meeting, on the Next program 
day preceding the next commencement — Alfred Moore, 
Esq., of Orange. 

Lecture on the imperfections in the present mode of 
teaching in our primary schools, and the best method of 
correcting them, assigned to the Rev. William Hooper, of 
the University. 

Lecture on elocution, with a particular reference to the 
teaching of reading, assigned to H. S. Ellenwood Esq. of 
Hillsborough. 

On Lyceums and Societies for the diffusion of useful 
hnowledge — James D. Johnson, Esq. of Oxford. 

Subject for discussion — the period of time necessary for 
due preparation for College. 



518 First Teachers' Association. 

The corresponding- Secretary was directed to procure 
for the use of the Institute, the "Annals of Education," 
and five copies of the "Education Reporter." 

Kesolved, That the Secretary prepare an account of the 

proceedings of the meeting, and of the Board of Directors 

for publication in the Hillsborough Recorder, and that all 

the newspapers in the State be requested to publish them. 

By order of the Board 

W. J. Bingham^ Secretary. 

— Raleigh Refjister, Thursday, July 7, 18S1. 

Literary Convention. — ^AVe mentioned in our last, that 
a number of gentlemen friendly to the cause of Education, 
and many of them Teachers, assembled at Chapel Hill, 
During Commencement week, for the purpose of mutual 
consultation and improvement. We are today, enabled, to 
Much good to e9me give the proceedings of that Convention and are gratified 

of the organization, c) jr c o 

in so doing, from a belief that such associations wull prove 
in Xorth-Carolina, as they have done elsewhere, eminently 
useful in awaktning an interest in behalf of Common 
schools — in leading Teachers to investigate more atten- 
tively the theory of Education, and in enlightening and 
regulating public sentiment on this important subject. It 
may seem a small matter to many, that a few individuals 
from different parts of the State, should have met and con- 
sulted together for the public good, and should have or- 
ganized a regular society to hold hereafter periodical meet- 
ings. But if we mistake not, we discover in this disin- 
terested attempt to promote the cause of Literature and 
Education, the germ of great future usefulness, and trust 
most sincerely, that the maturity of the fruit may corres- 
pond with the promise of the blossom.^ 

— Rale'Kjh Re<iister, Thursday. July 7, 1831. 



'The proceedings of 1832 have not been found. The Raleigh Reg- 
ister for a part of 1832 is not in the State Library. 



FiKST Teachers' Association. 519 

XOETH CAROLINA KsTSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 

The annual meeting of the I^orth Carolina Institute of 
Education will take place on Tuesday the 25th of June, 
two days previous to the Commencement of the Univer- 
sity. After which time, will be delivered the Annual Ad- 
dress and Lectures on the subjects appointed at the last 
meeting, viz : 

Annual Address, bv Joseph A. Hill, Esq. of Wilming- „ , ^^ 

" • i '1 ~ Programmf for the 

ton. Eirst Lecture, on Lyceums and Societies for the dif- ^^^'^'"g '" iss;^ 
fusion of useful knowledge, by James D. Johnson, Esq. 
of Oxford. Second Lecture, on a System of Elementary 
Schools for jSForth Carolina, by the Hon. Frederick Xash, 
of Hillsborough, Third Lecture, on the Custom of excit- 
ing emulation in Literary Institutions by reward or pun- 
ishment, by Walker Anderson, Esq. of Hillsborough. 

It is hoped and presumed, that the friends of Education 
generally, will attend and unite in supporting a cause of 
such vital importance to the State. 

By order of the Executive Committee, 

Walter A. Norwood^ 

May 22. Becording Secretary. 

— //(. Raleigh Begister, May 28, 1833. 

Our Vmreraity. — Another overfli>\ving Commencement 
furnishes evidence both that a new spirit is awakening in 
favor of the Laiiversity, and that the Addresses annually 
delivered, by the distinguished gentlemen who accept the 
appointments and invitations of the Literary Societies and 
of the Institute of Education, have an attraction which it 
was not foreseen would attach to them. The houses of 
the village were thronged and crowded until they would 
hold no more. ' * * Among the visitors, were Gov. 
Swain, and Ex-Governors, Owen, Iredell and Branch. 

We learn, through the kindness of a friend that on 
Wednesday, George E. Badger, Esq. led the way in the ex- 



520 First Teachers' Association. 

ercises of the occasion, in an address before the two Liter- 
ary Societies. ■''" ^ 
The annual address Joseph A. Hill, Esu. of Wilmiiio'toii, followed in the an- 

before the Institute ^ ^ , . 

of education. nual Address to the Institute, pervaded in everv part by 

good sense, rendered more acceptal^le by the wit, fancy, 
and facility and elegance of language which accompanied 
and embellished it. He described with much effect his 
own sufferings, wlien an unlucky boy, he was some years 
ago a mtniber of the Preparatory School at Chapel Hill, 
and whilst he pleaded for a more sparing use of the rod 
on the })art of the pedagogue, refuted his doctrines by his 
own example — ])roviiig by the copiousness of his classical 
allusions and the number and the appropriateness of his 
quotations, that no one of the ■ scourgings to which he al- 
luded had been bestowed in vain. 

other addresses. A Lecture i:»n Lyceuius, ])y James I). Johnson, Esq. gave 

evidence of extensive reading and research in relation to 
this subject, and presented an ample array of well selected 
facts, to which the inhabitants of many small villages that 
are scattered over the surface of Xorth Carolina Avould do 
well to give especial heed. 

The exercises of the day were closed l)v Walker Ander- 
son, Esq. who stated the results of his own experience in 
the education of Eenuiles, and laid down certain just prin- 
ciples respecting the difference that olitains between the 
two sexes, in regard to the propriety of applying to them 
the stimulus of emulation as an incentive to exertion. * * 

— //(. Raleigh Register, July 2, 1833. 

To the Members and Friends of the Xorth Carolina In- 
stitute of Education. 
Members of the The Fuuds of the Institute having been exhausted bv 

institution of Edu- , -t-.it • ,• , i i , • • , • i i 

cation asked to the I ubiicatioiis of the last year, it is particularlv re- 

pa.v their dues. n i , • i i i c ? <-( i • • ' • 1 1 

quested, that those indebted for a year s Subscription will 
forward the amount as soon as possible, postpaid, to the 
Subscril>er ar Chapel Hill. The ii'imber of members not 



FiKST Teacheks' Association. 521 

being sufficient to defray the expenses of the publications^ 
of the present year, any persons friendly to the objects 
of the Institute, would aid those objects by becoming mem- 
bers, which they can do by forwarding to the Treasurer 
an annnal contribution of One Dollar. 

By order of the Executive Committee, 

Walter A. ISTokwood, Treas. 

August 18, 1833. 

—In Baleigli Kecjister, Aug. 20, 1833. 

We are indebted to the publisher, Mr. Patridge, for a ur. hiu's &c\(\rvss 
copy of the Address of Joseph A. Hill, Esq. delivered, *^"^ '* 
at Chapel Hill, before the Xorth Carolina Institute of 
Education, in June last. This able address comes to us 
in quite an acceptable form, making a pamphlet of 1(5 
pages octavo, very neatly printed. The publisher will 
j^lease accept our thanks for the present. We should gladly 
present it to our readers forthwith, were it not for the 
press of important public documents, which have para- 
mount claims upon our columns.^ 

—In Baleigli Star, Feb. 20, 183^. 



1 With this reference to the atfairs of the Institute of Education, it 
disappears from the newspapers. 



9. PLAN OF SCHOOLS BY " PEOPLE'S FRIEND." 

Messrs. Editors ; 

yet^proSiled'^suHed There are certain subjects which many readers pass ovev 
to this state. withont even a hasty perusal, because they feel no interest 

in them or suppose, that under existing circumstances, 
they are wholly impracticable, or believe they already un- 
derstand them sufficiently well. 1 have some apprehen- 
sions, that the subject of the following Communication is 
one of this character. Its originality, in connexion with 
its great and acknowledged importance, will, I hope attract 
the attention of intelligent and reflecting men, and secure 
for it a careful examination. My object is the establish- 
ment of Schools throughout Xorth Carolina. Several of 
our Late Governors have in their Annual Messages to our 
Legislature, expatiated at considerable length, on this 
fruitful and popular topic. Nor has it escaped the vigi- 
lance of several of our eminent private citizens. But so 
far as I now recollect, all the Communications which I 
have seen in our papers on the subject, though the pro- 
ductions of enlightened and zealous friends, have been 
deficient in one important particular — they have not been 
fully adapted to the peculiarity of our circumstances. 
We must organize The svstcm of Education which has been for some time 

a plan ofoiir own. _ "^ 

in SO successful operation in Xew York, Massachusetts, 
and some other States, is not I apprehend, suited to I^orth 
Carolina. It is, therefore, the part of sound wisdom, and 
of enlightened policy, not to follow in the steps of our 
neighbors, however we may admire their example ; but 
make for ourselves a new road, in other words, originate 
a plan of Education adapted to our peculiar circumstances. 
And if our system should not be as imposing and as splen- 
did as that of our neighbors, but should in the end lead 
to the same desirable result, the g-eneral diffusion of learn- 
ing amouo' the people, Ave ought to possess sufficient inde- 
])endence and magnanimitv to carrv our own views into 



Plan of Schools. 523 

full elt'ect. Ill the siiicerity of my heart, i believe the ^;!;°o^o^'',?'r"cn"tant. 
tune IS far distant, when good schools on the common plan 
aiKi 111 sutocient numbers will be supported througnout 
our whole totate, either by the public revenues or by pri- 
vate patronage, or by botli these united. 8till 1 do not 
consider our case as hopeless. X'trv far from it. 1 re- 
gard the present time as decidedly more propitious to a 
general and successful movement in favor of education, 
than any which has occurred since the adoption of our 
Constitution, if not since the earliest settlement of this 
State. 1 may be singular in my opinion, but permit me 
to offer some reasons for it. 

In the first place, a great variety of causes which I need Ifa^l^ometo^Ido^t^ 
not specify, have for a long time, been operating to make ^<^'™^*J^^°^ 
a deep impression on reflecting men, who cherish a warm 
attachment to their native State, and who feel much solici- 
tude for its prosperity and future welfare ; that there is 
nrgent necessity for the adoption of some general and 
efficient system of education. A great many persons of 
this description, in different sections of our State, are, 
I believe, ready to co-operate cordially in the general es- 
tablishment of schools on a plan, practicable, thorough, 
and attended with moderate expense. — Show^ them a plan, 
which unites all these desirable qualities ; and you will 
secure at once their cheerful and liberal assistance. 

In tl)^ second place, the unedueaf ed & poorer class of Distribution of 
our people, have recently had their attention, incidentally inc'ilc.i t'liem'tT^ 
indeed yet impressively and powerfully, directed to the read. 
subject of education. An impression very general if not 
co-extensive w4th our boundaries, has been made on a large 
proportion of our community, in favor of the subject un- 
der consideration. To "the Bible effort" Avliich has been 
in progress nearly two years, we are indebted for this 
propitious circumstance. The distribution of thirty or 
forty thousand copies of the Holy Scriptures among our . 
destitute families, and often where not even a Spelling 
book, or an Almanac was ever seen, has, I believe, under 



524 Flax of Schools. 

these disadvantages, excited in a great many instances, 
an earnest desire to become ac(|uainted with their contents. 
And this desire will cause many of them to hail with lively 
joy the establishment of Schools for their children; that 
their offspring may obtain ready access to that volume, 
which though it contains intelligence more valuable than 
a globe of gold, is nevertheless at present to them '"A 
sealed Book." I readily admit, that this is not the great 
object for which the friends of the Bible have been put 
ting forth their vigorous and persevering exertions ; but 
it has, I believe, been the necessary consequence of their 
successful efforts to spread the word of life over our land 
in all its length and breadth, and whilst every benevolent 
mind and every friend of learning and of Christianity 
must be much gratified with this happy result, it is highly 
important that we should avail ourselves of our present 
advantages to urge forward with increasing confidence and 
zeal, the cause of moral and intellectual improvement. 
Phiii tdiuivea I no^v procced to state, in few words, the outlines of a 

teafhertakc chargf ^ _ ' ' 

aswin'^TipporUiim; P^i^H' which appears to me, to be better adapted to our 
circumstances than any which has come to my knowledge. 
Its peculiarity is the division of a Teacher's labors among 
two or more Schools, according to the ability of his em- 
ployers. I would engage none but well qualified Teachers, 
of good character and of experience, and provide a satis- 
factory remuneration for their services. Then if one 
neighborhood could sustain such a Teacher, let him take 
charge of only one School. If it would require two neigh- 
borhoods to support him, let him have the care of two 
Schools ; and devote three days in a week to each of them. 
If it would require three neighborhoods to support him. 
let him have the charge of three Schools, and spend two 
days in a week in each of them, and if in some thinly 
settled and mountainous sections of the State, a still great- 
er number of Schools would be necessary to sustain a good 
teacher, let him have the charge of five or six Schools, 
and devote onlv one dav in a week to each of them. 



each school to be 
open on certain 
days. 



Plan of Schools. 525 

I infer with certaintv, that all the children in Xorth- Sunday schools 

" _ have taught muDy 

Carolina, could m this way obtain a knowledge of the fun- to read, 
damental branches of Education ; for in Sabbath ISchools, 
a great number of children, and youth, and adults, have 
been educated, wlio never enjoyed any other literary ad- 
vantages. This fact is itself a practical demonstration, 
that the plan which 1 have proposed, if generally adopted 
would be of incalculable advantage, to the interests of 
learning in our State. This plan would be economical 
In the schools taught only one day in the week, the price schools mightije 
of instruction would probably not exceed 50 cents per the week; tuition 
scholar per quarter, and in the other Schools, in the same 
proportion ; it would moreover, be very convenient for 
those parents, who often, and especially during the busy 
seasons of the year, need the services of their children. 
Besides, Parents, it is believed, would make greater exer- 
tions to send their children the distance of two or three 
miles to school, a part of the time, than they would to 
send them daily. 

In conclusion, T irKpiire is not my theory apparently so pian could be 
well adapted to our peculiar circumstances, and of so 
much promise, as to be worthy of being fairly tested ? 
This could easily be done, if some person of public spirit, 
of influence and wealth, would embark in this enterprise, 
and establish a few schools in his neighborhood. In this 
case he should spare no pains to procure competent teach- 
ers, to prepare convenient School-houses, to provide all 
necessary books, and make a thorough experiment. The 
result might justly enrol his name among the most dis- 
tinguished benefactors of his country. 

— The People's Friexd. 

P. S. Since the above article was written, I have been j^,",^''*™^^'^ "*' ^^'^ 
informed that a respectable Teacher, in an adjacent coun- 
ty, has commenced the instruction of two schools. He 
spends three days a week, in each school. 

— BaJcif/Ji Fipgister, Tluir.^day. Majj 12, 1831. 



Recalls society 
organized in 1827. 



Congress did not 
give aid asked. 



10. DEAF AND DUMB ASTLITM. 

Deaf and Dumb Asylum. — We could not withhold last 
week, the expression of our astonishment, in announcing 
the fact, that there are in this State, fourteen hundred 
and fifty si.v persons bereaved of those prime blessings of 
nature, hearing and speaking, and the more we reflect on 
it, the greater is our surprise. It will be borne in mind, 
that during the Legislature of 1827, a Society was organ- 
ized for the purpose of establishing in North Carolina, 
an institution for the instruction of Deaf and Dumb per- 
sons. A constitution was adopted and signed and several 
pertinent and feeling addresses were made on the occa- 
sion — one, we particularly recollect, delivered by Dr. Cald- 
well, elicited great approbation. An Act also passed the 
Legislature, the same session, incorporating the said So- 
ciety, and a respectful Memorial was addressed to Con- 
gress, praying for a like donation of land as has been 
granted to similar Institutions in other States. This 
Memorial was acted upon by Congress, and a bill subse- 
quently passed one branch of that body, for carrying into 
effect the wishes of the Society, but owing to the want 
of time, the House of Representatives did not act upon 
it. If it be still amongst the unfinished business we hope 
our Representatives will ferret it out and use their exer- 
tions to have it passed, for the late examination shows, 
that we have need of such an Institution, in an eminent 
degreed 

— Raleigh Ber/ister. Thursday, Feb. 3, 1831. 



' The editor corrects his statement as to tiie number of deaf and 
dumb children in the next issue of his paper. 



526 



Deaf and Dumb Asylum. 527 

Statistics Deaf and Diunl). — The following statistics are 
from the Census of 1830: — 

White. Negroes. Totsil. 

Deaf and Dumb — Under 1-1 years. . . 69 25 94 
Of 14 and under 25 65 27 . 92 
Of 25 and upwards 60 27 ,87 

194 79 273 
Blind 215 157 372 

—From BalcUih Register, Feb. 10. IS-U. 

[This is printed to correct former statement whicli was an error. 
See editorial, Register, February 10, 1831 ] 



11. NECESSITY FOR SCHOOLS. 



People should con 
sider every 



to schools an 
enemy of the 
people. 



What other states 
are doing. 



Common Schools. — The necessity for establishing Com 
to"choo^is aS^*^*^'^ ^^^^^ Schools in every section of our country ought 
to be sounded in the ears of the rulers of the States, 
and of the Union, until this great duty of providing 
for the general instruction of the people is more faithfully 
regarded. — Let this be the test word, by which the people 
try every candidate for office : is he friendly to free 
schools; to popular education;! If not, he should be 
marked as an enemy to the people ; to their rights as free- 
men ; as anti-republican in his principles, and unworthy 
of the confidence of those for whose benefit this Govern- 
ment was instituted. The example of New- York merits 
the applause of the liepublic. Massachusetts supports her 
schools on a different plan : the spirit of education in that 
State is unbounded, k her seminaries of learning are not 
excelled by those of any State. Connecticut has distin- 
guished herself in the same laudable career. Other States 
are awaking, to be blest by the light, and freedom, and 
general improvement of the age. Plutarch tells us that 
"Caesar could boast that he had slain a million of men, 
given a million their liberty, and made a million prison- 
ers." In giving a million their liberty, there was some- 
thing of true glory. But in assisting the many millions 
in this Republic to appreciate, enjoy and perpetuate their 
liberty, a glory still more exalted may be achieved. This 
is a work of moral, as well as political grandeur, that will 
endure and be admired when the monuments of conquest 
by force, shall be swept from the world. 

— Raleigh Register, Thursday, Sept. 22, 1831. 



528 



12. LOTTERY FOE PUBLICATION OF A NORTH CAROLINA 
HISTORY REFUSED. 

To the Honourable the General Assembly of the State of 
IS'orth Carolina : The Memorial of Archibald D. Mnr- 
phey of Orange County. Respectfully sheweth. 

That he has heretofore represented to the General As- Former lotteries 

^ . tailed. 

sembly that he has been for several years engaged in col- 
lecting materials for a correct history of North Carolina 
and that he was unable to complete the work, without lib 
eral pecuniary aid. The General Assembly upon this rep- 
resentation passed an act authorizing him to raise by way 
of lottery the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, but re- 
stricted him to three drawings. This restriction and the 
smallness of the sum authorized to be raised put it out of 
his power to dispose of the Lottery. A subsequent act was 
passed authorizing the president and directors of the Lit- 
erary Fund to raise by way of lottery the sum of fifty 
thousand dollars, and to pay over to your Memorialist one- 
half thereof but no steps have been taken to carry this act work on history 

, ,. , , inlerrupted by 

into effect. ■ The labours of your Memorialist have been sickness, 
suspended for several years past, by reason of severe rheu- 
matism with which he was afflicted. Being at length re- 
lieved in a great degree from this painful disease, he is once 
more vrosecutine" the work, and he now solicits from the undertaking must 

^ . , . , , . , be aided by the 

General Assembly that pecuniary aid without which no man state to succeed, 
of reasonable fortune can compile a History of North Caro- 
lina. The materials for our Colonial history are deposited London records 
in the public oflices in England, and ardong the early 
records of the States of Virginia, South Carolina and 
Georgia: And your Memorialist entertained a hope, after 
the British Government, had upon the application of the 
General Assembly consented that copies might be taken of 
ill the documents and papers relating to our Colonial his- 
tory to be found in their public offices and after having 
made out an index of all these documents and papers and 
34 529 



530 



Aid to Pttblisti Histoky Refused. 



Documents to be 
state property. 



Asks 8,50.000 by 
lottery. 



delivered the same to our Ambassador in London for the 
information and nse of yonr Honourable body that you 
would have obtained copies at the expense of the State, 
since the index has been received nothing further has been 
done on the subject; and your Memorialist has concluded 
that the General xissembly will not procure such copies 
Tf suiRcient aid be given to your Memorialist, he himself 
will proceed to London, or send an agent of Intelligence 
to procure copies of the papers and documents aforesaid; 
and after writing our Colonial history, he will present 
them to the General Assembly to be deposited in the Public 
Library. They will fill up many large volumes in manu- 
script. He will at the same time present to the General 
Assembly several volmnes in nianuscri]:)t containing copies 
of such documents and papers relating to our history as he 
shall have been able to collect in this Country. It is be- 
lieved that the documents to be obtained from England, 
and those which have been and will be collected in tliis 
country will fill more than twenty folio volumes. Your 
Memorialist can not set forth with any precision, what it 
will cost to make his collection ; Init it is certain that it 
will cost a large sum. He asks for no appropriation from 
the Treasury. It will, he hopes, answer his purposes, to 
be authorized to raise a sufficient sum by way of Lottery. 
And it being a matter of perfect indifference with the 
General Assemblv, whether he be authorized to raise fifty 
or twenty thousand dollars. He prays that an act might 
be passed, authorizing him to raise the former sum. Such 
an act will probably enable him through some of the Bro 
kers in the N^orthern States to raise fifteen or twenty thou- 
sand dollars. And he prays that he may not be restricted 
in the number of drawings: Such a restriction will under 
the act, be of no avail to him. 

He further prays that he may have access to the papers 
and documents in the public offices in this City; and tliat 
he be ])ermitted to take co])ies of such as he may require; 
aud foi- this pur])Ose to withdraw from the ]uiblic offices 



Aid to Publish History Refused. 531 

such papers and documents upon his signing a receipt for, 
and promising to return the same. — And your Memorialist 
will ever pray. A. D. Mukphey. 

Nov. 29, 1831. 

A Bill to encourage the publication of a History of 
jSTorth Carolina. 

Whereas it is represented to this General Assembly that r-otttiy niii. 
Archibald D. Murphey of Orange County is engaged in 
compiling a History of i^orth Carolina, and that he cannot 
complete the work without liberal pecuniary aid: Be it 
enacted by the. General Assembly of the State of Xorth 
Carolina and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the 
same^ That the said Archibald D. Murphey be and he is 
hereby authorized to raise by way of Lottery a sum not 
exceeding fifty thousand dollars to enable him to prose- 
cute and complete said work. And that he shall have ac- 
cess to the public documents of the State with liberty to 
take copies of such of them as he may require; and fo"*' 
this purpose to withdraw for a short time from the public 
offices said documents upon his signing a receipt for th( 
same 

The Committee to whom was referred the Memorial of unfavorable report 

of the committee. 

Archibald I). Murphey, praying for the enactment ol a 
law, and authorizing him to raise by way of Lottery th ■ 
sum of fifty thousand dollars, have considered the same ancl 

REPORT, 

That however anxious they are to see a correct History 
of l^orth Carolina, yet a failure of a similar attempt madf- 
by the petitioners, not many years since, connected with 
the syT'tem of hazard, contemplated in the Memorial, upon 
the morality of the community, induces your Committee 
to return the Bill and ^lemorial to the House and recom- 
mend its rejection. 

Respectfully submitted, Thos. G. Pot.k, ClrDi. 

— Unpublished Legislative Documents, 18-31. 



-v*^^ 









^ '-- 






■' ■ - 






, ■- ° " / 






^ .^' %. 




.' ^'% 





V. 



,-^' 



.0 ^\^ 



^^^ 



^..<v^ 



^^' \Y 



.-5s 






K '^ 



s ^ V^ 



Yi^_^ -I ^ 'f 



^^OO^ 









.^ 






0" ^^ 



* '"^. 






-/r^^\ -^: 









,0 



-r* 



^r.^^ 



■x^^' "^^.. 






<V '-o\^-^\\ 












<0 o 










■^ '>'. 






C V 



\^' '^^ 






%. 






o5 U ^ 









.^ 



^ .-0 



c^. 






^^^. 
-V 


















^.. 









'^ 



.-^^' 









^^ ^^- 



■"-?- 



o. 












.'.V^ 



<. 



^ ' « * -^ 



r>\ 



\^' '-<<. 



.0^ 



^ ??. ?> 






■'-o. 



Z ^ 



^ aJ^ '% ^^ 






'A .j^^ 



o'< 



\^^ 



:•> ■'i^. 






-^ 









• -i''" 






:^'^ 



^=^. 



^ , 






V- 






cf" 



.•^^' 



■^ .<v 



.\^ 












..^ 



^t 






^ 












o_ 



-/ 



"-'^ Vco'^^/ 



'<? 



X>^ 






%. 



■^r 


















.-^'' 












>^ A^^ 



.'^ 






\^ . ^ ^ 



"^^ .^V' 
^'i-^ 



..v^ 












"'^ 



^ ./ 



'J- v^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



022 165 622^ 






















.Liiiuimami. 



